Wake school officials aware of year-round survey flaw

Parents must enter their child's ID number to take the survey, but there is nothing stopping them from re-entering the number and taking the survey again multiple times. Survey-takers can also enter any number combination and easily get into the system.

Wake schools spokesman Michael Evans said they rushed to get the survey out, despite the problems, at the school board's request.

To get the most accurate results, the school system will make sure the ID numbers are valid. They will throw out any responses that have been sent in multiple times, Evans said.

Board member Debra Goldman said she had her concerns about the system, but feels the surveys will still be useful once duplicates are filtered out.

So far, more than 2,700 responses have been received, Evans said.

On Tuesday, the school board also announced four community meetings scheduled for next month on the matter.

Each meeting runs from 6:30 p.m. until 9 p.m. in the schools' auditoriums.

The Board of Education voted 5-4 last week to end mandatory assignment to year-round schools beginning with the 2010-2011 school year and to allow parents to choose whether their child attends a school with a year-round or traditional calendar.

Two years ago, the district converted 22 elementary and middle schools to year-round schedules.

At the time, administrators defended the controversial moves by saying it would help the district keep up with enrollment growth and save money on school construction since year-round schools can accommodate more students than traditional-calendar schools.

Opponents argue that year-round schools have not eased overcrowding and that they create a hardship for families.