Wake schools shrink reassignment plan

RALEIGH 9,801 students will be moved in 2009, 11,008 in 2010, and 4,677 in 2011. That includes incoming kindergartners and new students likely to move to the county.

The revised plan will be be posted on the Wake County Schools website at 10 a.m. Saturday. The first public meeting will be held January 5 at Apex High School at 6:30 p.m., and the final vote will be in February.

Click here to read staff recommendations for assignments for the next three school years.

The plan has been under heavy fire from parents ever since it was released in November. The district is trying to relieve overcrowding and anticipate future growth by spreading student around the district to schools that have more room.

But parents who don't want to move their children - or people that bought homes in a specific neighborhood with the expectation that their children would go to a certain school - have been very vocal with their displeasure.

After the release of the first draft, the school system held five meetings to get feedback from parents. During a meeting at Cary High School, tensions rose as parents opposing the plan spoke out against possible changes.

"Our kids will be losing their friends when they move from their middle school to their high school," parent Rob Galvin said.

Another parent explained how she would have to juggle one child in year-round school and a second in traditional school.

"I'm going to be balancing a year-round child a mile from my house -- to a child that would go to high school 6 miles from my house on a traditional calendar year," Heather Schneider explained. "They're going to miss out on opportunities because I can't be two places at once."

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