Public education in Wake County reached a major turning point Tuesday when its school board adopted a choice-based method of deciding where students will attend school.
The long-awaited vote, coming after two years of discussion, demonstrations and dissension, represented a stark departure from decades of the system's factoring in diversity as a part of top-down assignments from administrators.
The nine-member board adopted the plan 6-2. Democrats Dr. Anne McLaurin and Carolyn Morrison joined Republicans to support it.
"It is a major improvement and a step in the right direction," said school board Chairman Ron Margiotta, who supported the plan but only votes in the case of a tie. "It's new day in Wake County, one that I have looked forward to for a long time." Margiotta, who had run the board for the past two years, lost his seat in the Oct. 11 election.
At the same time, critics - including recently elected board members - say too many questions exist about the details of the plan, including whether it will avoid creation of low-performing schools.
Runoff scenarios
A runoff election - one that would determine political control of the board - could decide whether the plan, which is to be implemented in the 2012-13 school year, moves forward as is.
The plan will likely remain intact if Republican challenger Heather Losurdo defeats incumbent District 3 board member Kevin Hill on Nov. 8. Losurdo requested the runoff Tuesday after election results confirmed Hill had fallen 51 votes shy of a majority needed to win.
If Hill were to win, the 5-4 Republican majority on the board would flip to the Democratic side when the new board is seated in December, raising the possibility of major changes to the plan. Hill and fellow Democratic board member Keith Sutton were the two no votes Tuesday.
"There are a lot of people out there that have been asking me that we move along on this," Republican board member Chris Malone said.
"They say this county is very largely split but is sick and tired of the politics," he continued. "I can't think of a better time to move forward and spend our time on more productive things, like student achievement."
Morrison cited the stability and parental involvement in the plan, as she joined Republicans Malone, John Tedesco, Debra Goldman and Deborah Prickett in voting to adopt it.
Board members in favor praised the choice-based method, with its emphasis on letting students go to schools near where they live, while also ending annual worries about being involuntarily moved to a different school.
"To make this plan work will require additional resources," McLaurin said.
Democrats on the board pressed Wake commissioners to increase school funding. Wake per-pupil funding has declined as the number of students has grown without increased funding. The vote represented a victory for Margiotta and his GOP colleagues, who swept to power in 2009 elections. Goldman said she's been pushing for an "effective, efficient and well-meaning plan" since she joined the board.
"It has been a solid two years in the making," Goldman said.
A bid for more time
Sutton asked that the vote on it be delayed until additional details are provided and, potentially, until the input of a new school board can be considered.
Virtually every one of the 16 speakers during the public comment period before the vote opposed the plan. Several asked for a delay in the vote, alluding to the results of last week's elections, in which four Democrats won their seats outright.
"Why all the rush to pass this plan?" asked Fuquay-Varina resident Erica Kirschner-Dean. "Will it be an improvement for the 95 percent who love what we have now?"
The state NAACP and several of the new Democratic board members elected last week had also argued that the vote should have been delayed.
They, along with some board members, complained that a vote was premature because the plan has too many unanswered questions.
Start in December
Under the new plan, families will no longer be assigned to a specific school based on their address. Instead, by early December, families will be given a list that includes at least five elementary schools, two middle schools and two high schools from which to choose. School administrators will try to provide the top-ranked choice.
Administrators have estimated that 85 percent of families will get their top choice.
School officials have not yet posted online the ability for families to search for their options in the new plan. The magnet application process will begin in December, with families participating in the non-magnet application process starting in January.
Superintendent Tony Tata told board members that there should be enough seats at the high-performing schools to handle most of the requests from students in low-performing areas.
"We know and have seen firsthand many times that assignment is an emotional issue," Tata said. "There could hardly be a more divisive issue politically. But this isn't about politics. This is about parents and the children who are entrusted into our care."
Grandfather clause
To ease the transition, the plan would allow all current students to be able to stay at their current schools and keep their bus service when the new plan goes into effect next year. Administrators have estimated that 94 percent of families will take advantage of that grandfathering option.
For next school year, the 12,400 students expected to enroll in kindergarten would be the ones primarily taking part in the application process.
