Don't move established neighborhoods to new schools, Wake parents tell school board
The Wake County school system should not move families in established neighborhoods to make room at schools for families in new neighborhoods, several families told the school board Wednesday night.
A dozen parents spoke out against the school system's proposed changes to assignment zones during a public hearing before the school board. Many of them have collected petitions from their neighbors who want their children to stay assigned to their current schools.
Some asked that the board delay reassigning families in the northwestern part of the county until some new schools open. The school system's proposed assignment plan intends to move hundreds of students in the fast-growing area, although no schools are opening.
"Western Wake needs a comprehensive overhaul due to the increasing population and the lack of schools," said Prathibha Ayyappan, a Morrisville parent of two kids, one of whom would have to move to new elementary school.
The school system has not favored making multi-year assignment plans, noting that data on development and population projections change too often.
At the same time, the western portion of the county is full of dozens of schools that are overcapacity and can't accept new students. It's also home to numerous additional schools that are on year-round calendars in order to be able to enroll more students.
The assignment zone changes, as proposed, would affect roughly 3,000 students to 5,000 students and their families, about 2% to 3% of the system’s 161,000 students. The changes would take effect during the 2024-25 school year.
The school board doesn’t propose changes to assignment zones but will vote on approving changes suggested by the system likely on Nov. 21. During public hearings, members of the public speak but board members don't responsd or debate.
Outside of the public hearing, families have been able to provide feedback on a message-board like platform, called ThoughtExchange. Messages are capped to fewer than 200 characters, and others can rate each post on a scale of one to five. It's a system some families have called insufficient for meaningful feedback.
Most proposed changes have not sparked protests but a few have.
The biggest changes would be in western Wake County, on the Durham County border and in Holly Springs. Parents in Garner have raised concerns about two neighborhoods there being moved to a new school.
In Holly Springs, a new elementary school is opening, Woods Creek Elementary. Families from three existing elementary schools would be moved to Woods Creek and most of them would have to change from a traditional calendar to a year-round calendar.
Near the Durham County border, the school system is proposing major changes to one school’s assignment zone, prompting numerous neighborhoods to be rezoned. Pleasant Grove Elementary would lose nearly all of its families to different schools and two neighborhoods would be moved into Pleasant Grove. Families who would be moved to Pleasant Grove have raised concerns, though families who would be moved out of the school have so far not organized to stay there.
The change is designed to mitigated some crowding issues while also transporting more students to schools closer to them. For the families who would be moved into Pleasant Grove, the school would be farther away from them. They would also have to move from a year-round calendar to a traditional calendar.
But some families in the area are skeptical about how much the changes would relieve crowding at Parkside. They argue the neighborhood is established without many young families moving in and say most grades at the school aren't over capacity.
Susan Nguyen, a parent of two children who would be reassigned, is frustrated that her neighborhood in Morrisville and neighboring Kitts Creek neighborhoods have faced reassignment before and are facing it again. She and others wanted the system to communicate more before proposing the changes.
But, she said, "If they wanted our input they would have asked for it earlier."
In Garner, two neighborhoods would be moved from Bryan Road Elementary to Aversboro Elementary. Bryan Road is overcapacity, and new neighborhoods are coming online. To make room for new neighborhoods closer to the school, the school system is proposing moving two relatively new neighborhoods that are just a bit farther away to Aversboro, which is not as close to those neighborhoods as Bryan Road is.
Parents in the Oak Park and Magnolia Park neighborhoods have fought the proposal but become pessimistic.
I feel "like it’s the fourth quarter and the team is down," said Sana Hadley, a Garner parent.
Most students who would be reassigned would be able to stay at their current school under a stability transfer but would not be able to receive school bus transportation. Students reassigned to Pleasant Grove Elementary or Woods Creek Elementary would be unable to apply for the transfer if they would be younger than 4th grade next year and wouldn’t have any siblings in 4th or 5th grade next year.
The school system first proposed these changes in September. Following organized feedback from families, the system declined to make any changes to its second draft in October. The system will issue a third and final draft Nov. 21, the same day the school board is scheduled to vote to adopt the assignment plan.
Families have flooded recent school board meetings, wearing matching shirts and sharing concerns. Some board members have sympathized with concerns raised.
On Wednesday night, people can speak for a given number of minutes to the board. The meeting is designated for the public to be heard, so board members won't be debating the proposal.
