Wake Leaders Celebrate School Merger Anniversary

More than 600 people gathered to remember the courageous founding of the Wake County Public School System 30 years ago and to call for continued courageous leadership in meeting today's education challenges at the annual meeting of the Wake Education Partnership today.

School board members, school administrators, county commissioners and county lawmakers from 1976 were recognized as special guests and applauded at the meeting for their work to unite the Raleigh City and Wake County schools districts into the Wake County Public School System.

As part of the 30th anniversary celebration, a special award was presented to John Murphy, first superintendent of the Wake County Public School System in 1976. This was Murphy's first trip to Raleigh since moving to Florida after his tenure as superintendent.

"Wake County's current prosperity is due to the leadership of a highly visionary Board of Education that had the courage to remain steadfast in the face of strong opposition and create a new system that focused on the need of Wake County's children," said Murphy. "The outstanding leadership of Vernon Malone, the late Mary Gentry, and the late James Atkins should be valued by Wake County citizens. Their courage and the courage of their colleagues built a strong foundation for Wake County that has endured and will continue to endure for generations to come."

The event featured a dramatic performance about the merger by Wake Forest-Rolesville High sophomore Ariana Debose whose staged "report" about the merger included live comments from Senator Vernon Malone, chair of the 1976 Wake County Board of Education; Wade Smith, attorney with Tharrington Smith and 1976 N.C. legislator; current Wake County Board of Education Chair Patti Head; former WCPSS Superintendent Bill McNeal, a teacher at Carroll Junior High School in 1976; and Smedes York, president of The York Companies.

The Joyner Elementary School Chorus performed a song they wrote about the merger -- singing, dancing and turning flips to celebrate the school system the merger created. The Ligon Middle School Jazz Band and Enloe High Orchestra played before the program began. Broughton High students ushered people to their seats.

The meeting's theme, "A Community United: Celebrating 30 Years of Courageous Leadership," focused on the anniversary of the merger. The 1976 merger of the two districts was a significant moment in the community's history, peacefully integrating schools in Wake County despite initial resistance in the community. Since then, WCPSS has become a national leader in academic achievement and has played a key role in the area's phenomenal growth.

The 1976 Wake County Board of Education included James Atkins, Sue Byrne, Roland Danielson, Melvin Finch, Jr., Mary Gentry, Casper Holroyd, Jr., Billy Johnson, J.C. Knowles, Charlotte Martin, John Massey, Jr., Gilliam Nicholson, Sam Ranzino, Roy Tilley and Cliffornia Wimberly. Vernon Malone was chair.

The WCPSS administration in 1976 included Superintendent John Murphy, Wayne Bare, Robert Bridges, Morris Brown, Johnny Farmer, Curtis Fleshman, Helen Frazelle, William Freeman, William Freitag, Aaron Fussell, Pattie Hinton, Joseph Holliday, Conrad Hooper, Coyte Lanier, Mary Jane McReynolds, Jack Michaels, Anna Telle and Stuart Thompson.

The 1976 Wake County Board of Commissioners included Waverly Atkins, Elizabeth Cofield, Robert Heater, J.T. Knott, Jr., Betty Ann Knudsen, Vasser Shearon and John Williamson.

The 1976 Wake County legislative delegation included Al Adams, Bob Barker, Ruth Cook, Bill Creech, Bob Farmer and Joe Johnson.

At the event, Wake Education Partnership presented its annual education awards. The Friend of Education Award was presented to Capitol Broadcasting Company President and CEO Jim Goodmon. The Business Partner for Education awards were presented to Barnhill Contracting Company and KB Home.

Posted by Bill Poston at 02:18 PM on October 12, 2006 | Leave Feedback

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