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Retired Wake schools Superintendent Bill McNeal said local schools with high concentrations of poor and minority students have performed well, but he questions how long that can be sustained. A court ruling allowing the use of race could only help districts trying to foster diversity, said McNeal, now executive director of the N.C. Association of School Administrators.

"It would remove the chilling effect and put one more tool in the hands of districts to ensure the kind of schools we want our own children to attend," McNeal said.

The court case will probably have no effect on the few districts still under court-ordered desegregation plans, legal experts say, because it affects only districts that use race voluntarily.

Ashley Osment, a lawyer for the UNC Center for Civil Rights, said a court ruling allowing districts to consider race would lift the legal threat that's often raised.

"No longer could people say you're not allowed to use race," she said. "If we want a system that is not two-tiered, these are issues we have to confront head-on."

Wake school board members might disagree on reopening the issue of race if the court affirms its use.

Beverley Clark, a strong supporter of the current approach, said the policy is intended to ensure that all schools are "healthy and strong."

"But clearly we would want to look at all those factors that are within our control to make sure that all schools are healthy and attractive," she said.

Ron Margiotta, a board member who favors neighborhood schools, said he thinks the current policy is vulnerable to legal challenge as a proxy for race. He said he's unconcerned about schools with too many poor or minority students, as long as students are performing academically.

"I'm not sure that [racially diverse enrollments] are the responsibility of the school system," Margiotta said. "It is the responsibility of the school system to educate children."

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