Wake County School Board approves student assignment plan
RALEIGH (WTVD) -- The Wake County school board voted Tuesday evening to approve the final student assignment proposal for the next school year.
The plan impacts about 2,700 students, which is less than two percent of students. Many parents had fought to keep their kids at their current schools.
Since August, parents have been very vocal in public meetings and in an online forum provided by the school district. While no parents signed up to speak at this Tuesday's meeting, board member Susan Evans was vocal about their concerns.
"When you look at the county as a whole -- 155,000 students -- 2,700 students is not a lot, but a large chunk of that 2,700 students is in my area. So, I have to fight for the stability of my families as much as I possibly can," said Evans, who represents Southern Wake County. "More of the new schools we're opening year after next will be in my district, and we'll be going through this again in western and south Wake."
The school board has been through various drafts of the assignment plan since August, tweaking along the way after parental input.
They say they're trying to ease overcrowding and align school calendars, but some parents say the changes would greatly impact their families.
"I think we really struggled to wean down whatever impact we would have on families," said board Chairwoman Christine Kushner. "I'm optimistic about the future of our schools and growth does present a lot of challenges for us."
Click here to see the final plan.
At a Tuesday work session, the board directed staff members to look into the possibility of providing transportation to some rising fourth and fifth graders who are eligible to grandfather at their current school.
A final decision on that will be made once the board has had a chance to review the transportation implications.
Also at Tuesday's school board meeting, members re-elected Kushner as school board chairwoman. She represents central Raleigh, and has served in chairwoman for the past year.
Board members also selected Tom Benton as vice chairman. He serves northeast Wake County.
