US District Judge Robert Potter, an opponent of busing before he ascended to the bench, has reopened Swann vs. Charlotte-Mecklenburg , the case which led to the desegregation of the schools. The fear in many quarters is that Potter intends to declare the task of desegregation complete and overturn those school system policies, including magnet schools, which have become the cornerstones of integration. Under the leadership of Griffin and Smith, the school board took the courageous position that now is not the time for such a drastic change of direction.
Much more work remains to be done before the task of desegragation is complete.
While these difficult issues are debated, Griffin and Smith have submitted ambitious budgets to the county comissioners, and in an era of runaway phobia over taxes, have managed to get the resources they need to pursue the task of educating children. Aside from posturing and posing and supporting bills that would cut needed services, her main accomplishment seems to be falling in with the most extreme crowd of rightwingers in her party, even to the point of backing a coup against Newt himself. When their coup backfired, she danced around explaining how she wasn't really against Gingrich, it's just that blah blah blah. . . Your tax dollars at work. Actually a born and bred mainstream politician, albeit a particularly skillful one, Helms now seems positively radical in his dedication to civil discourse.