School board approves reassignment plan

RALEIGH Members approved a smaller plan that would require 24,654 students to switch schools over the next three years.

That's 2,117 fewer students than the original plan released in November and 832 less than the plan released in December. The number of students who will actually end up moving could be even smaller.

"With the grandfather clause, 11,000 students are eligible to stay put," said Wake Schools Spokesperson Michael Evans.

The plan would move 9,547 in the 2009-2010 school year when three new elementary schools open. For the 2010-2011 school year, 10,489 students would be moved to fill one new elementary, two new middle and two new high schools.

The final year of the first ever multi-year reassignment plan calls for moving 4,618 students to fill one new elementary and one new middle school.

Click here to view Wake County School's Web site.

Despite several public hearings and several changes to the plan some parents are still upset.

Daphne Wright told Eyewitness News that her 5 and 7 year olds are being sent to a school that's three times farther away from their home than their current school.

"We're 2.9 miles from Oak Grove Elementary and it's almost 9 miles to Adams," Wright said. "We've been told by transportation that the bus ride will be an hour to an hour and a half that's too much for any child."

The school system wants to reassign students to fill new schools, ease overcrowding in existing schools and to create socio-economic diversity across the county.

"What's more important the numbers or the kids? The numbers are set up by the board, not by the state or by the government," asked Wright.

Wright says she'll apply for a transfer.

There are some families celebrating a small victory. Some groups in the Fox Road area were removed from the plan.

Last week, several families who wanted to stay at Apex High School fought being reassigned to Athens Drive and won.

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