Concerned parents consider legal action to stop proposed school reassignment

CARY, NC (WTVD) -- Dozens of parents living in the Cameron Pond subdivision of Cary are furious over a proposed student reassignment plan that will have their kids switching schools.

Parents want their kids to walk or bike to school on a new greenway that the Town of Cary is building, but the Wake County School District wants to bus the students a few miles down the road.

"It seems like proximity was completely disregarded with how the neighborhood was zoned for," said Mills Park parent Patrick Breen.

"We can't sleep. These are our kids," said Mills Park parent Leslie Cramer. "We would lose that sense of community that really brings us together and honestly helps build our children as good citizens."

The Wake County School Board is considering to move students from Mills Park Elementary and Middle Schools.

Kids would switch to Carpenter Elementary or Alston Ridge Middle.

The first area of concern is that the new facilities are on different calendar years. Mills Park is traditional and Carpenter is year-round.

The second frustration is that parents have been waiting for a greenway to be built, which connects their neighborhood to the Mills Park complex.

The trail project is around the corner and folks said they want their children to be active by either walking or biking to school.

If the students are moved to a different campus, parents question the point of building a new greenway.

"This becomes Cary's version of a bridge to nowhere," said Breen.

Parents have considered hiring an attorney. They have also started a petition asking the Wake County Board of Education to revise the proposal.

The proposed changes are for the 2019-2020 school year.

The district said officials are only considering drafting one of the reassignment plans and there are three more versions to go.

A spokesperson said that the board will be considering parents' feedback.

"(It's) really, really devastated honestly. I feel like I've made big life decisions for my family and for my kids that are essentially being taken away from me," said Cramer.

The School Board will be voting on the proposal in November.

There will be meeting a September 18 and parents will be attending.