Wake County School Board tackles enrollment cap, bonuses
CARY. North Carolina (WTVD) -- The plan for the new year brings bonus money, a new school board member and the end of enrollment caps for five schools in Wake County.
These are just a few items on the agenda for the Wake County School Board's final meeting for 2016.
SELECTING A NEW BOARD MEMBER
The board discussed the process of filling the vacant District 7 seat on the board.
In November, longtime Wake County educator and board member Zora Felton passed away unexpectedly.
WAKE COUNTY SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER DIES UNEXPECTEDLY
The board said it plans to put out an advertisement on Wednesday and hopes to have interviews and hopefully a candidate by the end of January.
"I'm really looking to see how many retired educators, whether that's teachers or administrators who are also interested," said WCPSS Board Chair Monika Johnson-Hostler.
MERIT BONUSES
The school board also had to decide on how to divide the one-time merit bonuses from the $1.7 million allotted from the state.
They had several options on the table and chose to go with the option that allows for bonuses for non-education employees, ranging on a scale from those who have been with the county for 10 years and higher and making about $15 an hour.
Bonus amounts vary on the number of years employed with the county and job performance. They range from $350 to $650.
Read all stories about Wake County Schools here
"Our bus drivers, our cafeteria workers," Johnson-Hostler said, "we know they're our lowest paid, we also have retention issues and so I think it's a benefit to be rewarding people for their services with the county."
Several board members agreed that more needs to be done to fund bigger bonuses for those being paid wages they don't consider livable.
ENROLLMENT CAP
Five schools will no longer have an enrollment cap in the 2017-18 school year, and no new schools will receive an enrollment cap, the Wake County Board of Education decided Tuesday night.
Ten schools will retain their existing enrollment cap in the coming school year.
Enrollment caps are needed when a school is well above its planned capacity. A cap means that students who recently moved into the school's base attendance area may be assigned to an overflow school until a seat becomes available at their base school.
Thanks to voter-approved bonds, we have opened eight new schools in the last two years, and have three more new schools opening in 2017. This has relieved crowding at many schools.
Enrollment caps will be removed from: Davis Drive Elementary, Hodge Road Magnet Elementary, Hunter Magnet Elementary, Walnut Creek Elementary and Wiley Magnet Elementary.
The following schools will retain enrollment caps:
- Apex Middle
- Cedar Fork Elementary
- Enloe High
- Fuquay-Varina Elementary
- Fuquay-Varina High
- Heritage High
- Holly Grove Elementary
- Mills Park Elementary
- Mills Park Middle
- Panther Creek High
Parents can learn more about enrollment caps here.
