Parents take to the streets in protest over school calendar
WAKE COUNTY (WTVD) -- Hundreds of Wake County parents and students are fighting to keep their school on the traditional calendar schedule.
On Thursday morning, at least 300 students and parents marched toward Mills Park Middle and Elementary schools in Cary to bring attention to the campaign.
Due to overcrowding, the Wake County School Board is throwing around several ideas to fix it, including converting from traditional to the year-round calendar.
"When you go on two different school schedules, you don't realize it's going to impact you financially .. your relationships," parent Susan Stines said.
The elementary school's calendar just changed several years ago, which is why Stines says she's juggled having two children on separate school schedules.
"My children have seen each other for a total of about 30 days per year for the last three years," she said. "If one is out of school, the other one is in school, they're doing homework."
"We've got almost a high schooler, a middle schooler, we've got elementary school kids and we're going to have such a big spread and this year round school is a bad idea, because we're going to be on different tracks," parent Scott Batchelor said.
School Board Chair Christine Kushner says she hears the parents loud and clear.
"The growth in western Wake is significant and so the board has a responsibility to make sure that we're planning for that growth," she said. "We've gotten a few emails from parents wanting it to be on a 4-track year round schedule, but I would say most would not welcome that change so we are definitely looking at all options."
Other options to help with overcrowding include adding modular units to the campus.
There's also a new middle school coming to nearby Brier Creek in the next couple of years, which will help.
