The right-wing, anti-school crowd lost in November when the Wake County school bonds won, but they’re taking aim again.

One of our readers emailed:

“Looks to me like the County Commissioners are trying to take over the school board – a Billion dollar school bond with 4 school board seats on the same ballot.”

Bingo, reader.

The News & Observer’s T. Keung Hui and Ryan Teague Beckwith reported Tuesday:

Most Wake County school board members think it’s a poor idea to ask voters to approve another $1 billion in school construction bonds this fall so soon after last year’s bruising victory.

County commissioners shocked school leaders last weekend by saying they want to put the next bond issue on the ballot this year instead of 2008 or 2009 as originally planned. School board members fear voters won’t be ready to approve another bond issue — and the increase in property taxes — so quickly.

I see the fine hand of Paul Coble behind this. But don’t accuse me of seeing a vast right-wing conspiracy. It’s half-vast.

The plot: Put a huge bond issue on the ballot again, when it’s most likely to lose. And hope the bonds sink board members up for reelection who have defied the Republican-majority commissioners. Then the anti-school crowd will have full sway.

Commissioners Chairman Tony Gurley admitted as much in the N&O:

Gurley said commissioners did not discuss the political implications of putting the bond issue on the same ballot as other local races, but he acknowledged it is a factor in the group’s thinking.

“I think that’s probably understood,” said Gurley, who was re-elected in November. “It was very trying to have [bonds] on the same ballot as a re-election. I did it last year, and I’m sure it cost me a bunch of votes.”

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