Despite parent protests, WCPSS reassignment plan still shuffles Cary students

Three new schools will be opened in the 2017-2018 school year and to fill those schools with kids, changes in school assignment must be made. Several families in Cary, however, are not happy with the proposed change.

One of the new schools slated to open, Horton’s Creek Elementary, will pull students from existing schools including Mills Park Elementary. Families already assigned to Mills Park want their kids to stay at the school and said the proposed assignment changes will divide up their community.

Parents have campaigned hard for district leaders to reconsider the plan, but have been unsuccessful so far. A recent draft of the plan did not reverse the proposed reassignment.

School leaders said Mills Park Elementary is overcrowded. In their meeting Tuesday, board members asked staff members to provide more data to better explain the reasons behind the assignment changes to parents.

Last month, senior director for student assignment Laura Evans said that Mills Park Elementary is capped at more than 1,000 students and 150 students are on a waiting list.

A third draft of the proposal is in the works and a final assignment plan should be completed by early December.