Changes made to school reassignment proposal

As of last week, the school system had received 2,000 comments about the proposed plan, which is based on 10 new schools' opening and projected population growth. Based on parent concerns, four changes were announced Monday evening to the reassignment plan:

"The draft is changing from day to day,” said Chuck Dulaney, Wake County Public School System assistant superintendent for growth and planning.

Parents and students heard about the changes at a Community Engagement Meeting at Cary High School, one of a series of meetings scheduled to gather opinion on the draft proposal.

Heather Schneider's child will also go to Apex High, instead of the proposed suggestion of Cary High. However, she is still nervous the plan could be changed back.

“It is not set in stone,” she said.

Some students, still being reassigned, said moving to another school would tear them from their friends.

"This reassignment will be very traumatic for me and my friends,” a student said.

Some parents said the proposed reassignment plan would send children outside their neighborhoods, to schools in other towns.

"Apex children are sent to Cary High and the Cary students are sent to Apex High,” a parent said.

"No one wants to lose the seats in their schools to accommodate someone that lives 20 miles away,” Wake County Board of Education member Ron Margiotta said.

The public is invited to comment on the plan in public meetings through Dec. 10. Public meetings, each beginning at 6:30 p.m., are as follows:

Overall, the number of students reassigned is comparable to those moved in the past three one-year plans.

Officials said they also considered schools' socioeconomic balance, the distance students would be bussed and the state's magnet-school policy.

Mailings will then be sent out to the parents of affected students, who will know their final assignments by mid-May of next year.