Wake County families get more time to lobby for changes to student assignment plan

Wake County parents are getting two more weeks to see whether they can get changes made to a plan that would move thousands of students to different schools next year.

The Wake County school system announced this week that the release of the third draft of the 2019-20 student assignment plan will be pushed back from Oct. 16 to Oct. 30. The delay will allow the school board to discuss Tuesday alternatives that parents have suggested be added to the enrollment proposal, according to Matt Dees, a district spokesman.

“The board just wanted a chance to sort through some things and discuss if we did Option A what would that look like and if we did Option B what would that look like before we get to draft three,” Dees said Wednesday.

Dees said the school board still plans to vote on the plan on Nov. 20. But now the board will hold a special work session on Oct. 30 to get the next draft with the public hearing on the plan moved to Nov. 7.

Much of the plan involves filling four new schools: Green Level High and Alston Ridge Middle in Cary, Parkside Elementary in Morrisville and Southeast Raleigh Elementary. The plan also recommends opening Alston Ridge Middle and Parkside Elementary on a year-round calendar and converting East Cary Middle School to a traditional calendar.

Parents can learn about the plan and provide public comment at wcpss.net/enrollmentproposal. More than 2,300 comments have been posted on the district’s online forum.

The outcry against the plan has been particularly vocal in western Wake, a fast-growing part of the county where many of the moves are slated to take place. Parents and students have asked not to be moved to schools that are further from home.