Wake school board reverts to old maps for new assignment plan

Cary, N.C. — In a move that seemed to satisfy both sides of the bitterly divided Wake County Board of Education, school system leaders are developing a student assignment proposal that utilizes assignment maps from last school year.

Under a June directive from the board, school system staff developed a student assignment plan for the 2013-14 school year that combines elements of the current controlled choice plan and a neighborhood model that links each Wake County address with a base elementary, middle and high school.

But some parents expressed disappointment with the maps drawn up by district leaders that showed which neighborhoods would be assigned to which base schools.

"We are one neighborhood, but they split us into six," said Karen Carter, who lives in Cary's Westpark neighborhood. "It just puts into question – are we even a neighborhood?"

Board members agreed at a work session Thursday that families should be able to keep their 2011-12 base assignments, with some minor adjustments for capacity. About 94 percent of parents polled during the development of the choice-based plan said they were pleased with their current assignments.

So, keeping those assignments intact promotes stability, said board member Susan Evans.

Board member Deborah Prickett agreed.

"I don't see (implementing) a big overhaul to get people upset all over again," she said.

Board Chairman Kevin Hill said stepping back from a radical student assignment re-write is the best thing to do.

"Let's slow this thing down a little bit and let's take a good look at it," he said, adding that the board reached some consensus during Thursday's meeting.

Tensions have been high among board members after the Democratic majority voted last week to fire Tony Tata as superintendent. Hill said problems with the implementation of the choice student assignment plan and a busing debacle that got the traditional calendar school year off to a "disastrous" start were among the reasons cited for Tata's dismissal.

Board member Debra Goldman, who has been outspoken in her support for Tata and her outrage at his termination, said she saw Thursday's meeting as a positive step toward board cohesion.

"There has been a big wake-up call, and the board is moving forward," she said.

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Latest Comments

Ignorance is bliss.

miketroll3572
October 12, 2012 4:02 p.m.

"Who ever thought that the Democratic board members would actually listen to all the outrage from parents."-westernwake

Apparently the ousted Republicans from last election didn't...or chose to listen to a minority.

Art Popr & Friends managed to politicize a non partisan school board - and now we all are left with the mess of bitterness, thickheaded ideology, and a roomful of my-way-or-the-highway attitude. I hope Art's happy with this. The old system wasn't optimal, but it worked more or less. If the Art-oids had not chosen a scorched earth policy they'd probably still be in control of the board. Instead we're all left with a mess...the board will now swing back and forth.

Road-wearier
October 12, 2012 2:38 p.m.

Tata's firing--in reality--had *nothing* to do with his "lack of educational experience." Tata was not hired to teach school. He was hired to properly apportion taxpayer funded resources in a way that conformed to the majority of parents' demands for Proximity, Stability and Student Performance. Tata succeeded in creating an extraordinarily accommodating plan that all but a vocal minority of Progressive activists were happy with. Tata was ousted--in reality--because he succeeded in implementing a workable assignment solution, in winning support from a majority of taxpayers and because he stood in the way of the new Progressive board majority's desire to dust off the old "bussing for diversity" plan to appease the NAACP and other misguided agitators. In the net, the board has broken their promises to parents/citizens/taxpayers to refrain from sudden or overt changes to the new assignment policy, ousted a proven and respected leader and wasted HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of taxpayer dollars.

fbillingsly
October 5, 2012 7:46 p.m.

I support the implementation of a neighborhood school assignment policy. However if Wake County puts this method into place we need to have a plan in place to properly fund schools that have high rates of children from low income homes. This means that the average funding per student at these schools must be greater than the "affluent schools", and extra staff / programs are needed to make these students successful. This includes the concept of provided extra pay to teachers who agree to teach in these challenging situations.

I recognize how difficult it is to teach in high poverty schools. I have had family members who have taught in Title 1 schools in N.C. outside of Wake County. The most important thing is to make sure that the school is a 'happy' and secure place each day for the children and that they are properly fed before you can even take the next step to learning. I applaud the many teachers who step up and do their best for these children each day.

westernwake1
October 5, 2012 7:35 p.m.

Wishful - I didn't ask about what happens to the brick and mortar school building, I asked about what happens to the LEP kids - the little human beings' lives, educations and futures. Do their academic needs get met while the school is focused onon being popular with the middle class?