A few simple facts exist in relation to school assignments:
People of similar social and economic status are naturally driven to cluster by the cost of housing. Unfortunately in North Carolina, ethnicity and economic status are often correlated. These facts lead to neighborhood schools with little diversity.
The main reason for reassignment is opening new schools. The need for new schools is driven primarily by people moving into the area who often want to change what they find to fit what they are familiar with.
The premise behind controlled choice is giving each family a selection of schools to choose from; this is an individual family choice not a neighborhood choice. Successful controlled choice likely leads to children from the same neighborhood attending different schools. Unless parents are forced to transport their own children, multiple schools per neighborhood leads to redundant busing with many buses chasing each other through each neighborhood.
It is clear the issues surrounding school assignment are much more complex than the politically motivated minds that are so confident they have new answers.
To every challenge there often appears to be simple answers that always prove to be ineffective when thoroughly evaluated.
John Yoakum
Cary
