Wake takes a long view of school assignments

Parents to know children's schools for 3 years

RALEIGH -- Wake County parents could know by Halloween where their children may be going to school for the next three school years.

Wake school administrators laid out the timetable Tuesday for releasing a multiyear student reassignment plan, a departure from the past practice of doing one-year plans. In addition to giving families warning for the first time, administrators also want to move up when they present the plan.

"This is an attempt to be more family friendly, to provide parents more information," said Superintendent Del Burns.

The plan would cover the 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2011-12 years. But Chuck Dulaney, assistant superintendent for growth and planning, said nothing would keep the board from making additional moves if circumstances change.

Wake annually reassigns thousands of students to fill new schools, ease crowding at existing schools and promote diversity. The school board reassigned 6,464 elementary students for this fall.

Currently, Dulaney said, planning groups composed of administrators, teachers and parents in areas that will most likely be affected are going over the data and developing scenarios.

Dulaney said they are considering delaying the opening of some new elementary schools by a year because of a slowdown in growth among young students. He said it would allow them to house middle school students until their permanent buildings opened.

Dulaney said his department will present a draft reassignment plan for public comment in late October. It will hold public meetings in November to get feedback before presenting a revised plan to the school board in mid-December. A final vote would be scheduled for January.

In other action Tuesday, the school board voted to take $677,804 out of the rainy-day fund to help keep year-round schools from losing additional teachers.

School administrators had asked for the money because funding for teachers is tied to enrollment. Year-round schools have lost some positions already because they are 1,591 students below their projected enrollment.