CARY, NC – The membership of the joint Cary-Garner Mayors' Task Force on School Assignment is nearly complete.

Of the nearly 100 applications that were filed and reviewed by the Cary Town Council, Mayor Glen Lang announced that the following people would sit as regular members of the Task Force: Cynthia Matson, Patty Williams, Erv Portman, Kim Dennis, Ramasu Suresh, Ray Martin, Chuck Musciano, Kevin O’Neal, Jack Sullivan, and Mandy Tiefenthaler Babuin. Lang also appointed two alternates who would step in if a regular member could not fulfill his or her duties. Cary’s alternates are Amanda Mixon and Liz Parry.

Regarding the pool of applicants, Cary Council member Julie Robison said, "I was impressed and touched with the quantity and quality of the candidates." "The quality was impeccable," agreed Mayor Lang. "There were so many good people." Council member Jennifer Robinson said it was "hard to whittle it down to 10. There were so many qualified people."

To date, Garner Mayor Sam Bridges has named seven of his Town’s 10 appointments, which include a mix of parents, teachers, PTA members, and other community leaders. Garner’s representatives are Bobbi Bennett, Karen Daeke, Anne Fowle, Hector Millan, Gra Singleton, Grant Spalding, and Dave Holmes. Mayor Bridges will complete the selection in the next few weeks.

The goal of the new 20-member Mayors’ Task Force on School Assignment is to articulate, prioritize, and work with the Wake County Public School Board to positively and effectively resolve the most critical school assignment issues. Lang and Bridges will co-chair the task force which is comprised of 10 citizens from Garner and 10 from Cary. The group will meet the first Thursday of each month from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Meeting locations will alternate between Cary and Garner. The first meeting of the group will be held in Cary on November 7 at the Cary Senior Center. Garner meetings will be held in the Town Hall Board Room located at 900 Seventh Avenue. All meeting will be open to the public.

"This Mayors’ Task Force will not reach its full potential without the full, active, and consistent participation of Wake County citizens who should come to each meeting to share their thoughts and experiences during the public input portion of every meeting of the Task Force," said Lang.

Current proposals call for each meeting to focus on one topic and to begin with remarks from the Wake County Public School System, followed by public input and then discussion by the Task Force.

###