As crews build new schools, Wake parents fight reassignment

HOLLY SPRINGS, North Carolina (WTVD) -- As construction crews are working along Honeycutt Road and a crane is muscling around steel beams, some parents are hammering home the point they don't want their children to go to the new school.

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"Our daughter has been visibly upset when we mention it to her," said dad Jeremy Merrill, who sent a lengthy email to the Wake County School District begging to be spared in reassignment.

Several parents are frustrated their children are being moved from Holly Grove Elementary to the new Buckhorn Creek. It is slated to open in the new school year.

The schools are relatively close to each other, but the school switch will require kids to be bused.

Children who live in the Garrison subdivision of Holly Springs are being walked to school by their parents now. Students will also go from a year-round to a traditional school calendar.

"I do think it is too much movement for kids," Merrill said. "They have get to know other new familiar faces, new processes, and new things along those lines. There is a little bit of development cycles that's lost every time they change schools."

The district said it is still welcoming feedback on the enrollment plan.

ABC11 found a response on the District's "Frequently Asked Questions" tab that said the Garrison neighborhood is being reassigned because of proximity.

It comes as officials are trying to handle the population boom. Wake County is growing by roughly 64 people each day and that translates to two kindergarten classes being born daily.

WCPSS is coming up with a 20-year plan to cushion the crush of people.

Officials came together this past Monday and strategized the next billion-dollar bond proposal. A spokesperson said an average of five schools are built in Wake each year and even as this is happening, the district continues to purchase new land and scout other properties to build additional schools.

"I think there's a way we can better plan for these schools along with the development and looking at some of the solutions around that," Merrill said. "And one of the biggest solutions and easiest solutions is to look at year-round schools."

Parents plan on again speaking at the school board's next meeting November 7.