Wake school board approves student assignment plan for next year

Students at 52 schools in the Wake County Public School System will be moved to another school’s assignment zone next year under the district’s enrollment plan, finalized by the Wake County Board of Education on Wednesday night.

That’s about a quarter of the system’s nearly 200 schools, enrolling roughly 53,000 of the system’s nearly 160,000 students. Up to 1,700 students will likely be affected.

The reassignments end some “diversity assignments” in favor of assigning students to schools closer to their homes. Diversity assignments are long-time efforts by the school board, under different leaders and superintendents, to more evenly distribute students across the school system, namely, economic status.

Years of declining bus driver employment and routes are spurring the district to make changes this year, even as it won’t open any new schools next year.

Making changes because of busing needs concerned Board Member Roxie Cash, who argued the changes wouldn’t help fill under-enrolled schools long-term.

“I’m concerned about transportation being the tail that wags the dog,” Cash said.

She lamented the reassigning some North Ridge Elementary students — once assigned to the school to increase student diversity — to Bugg Elementary.

Board Member Jim Martin also said diversity should be a priority.

Martin, during his comment period at the beginning of the board meeting, said his greatest regret as a board member is that he will leave as the school system is “more segregated than when I started.”

Martin and Cash did not run for reelection and their terms will expire next month.

“Really our transportation is at a breaking point,” Board Member Christine Kushner, whose term will also expire next month, said.

Under this plan, which would affect assignments for the next school year, all current students shifted are eligible to stay at their current school. They would not be able to ride the bus to their school, however.

Rising kindergarten, sixth grade or ninth grade students would also be able to attend the same school as their older siblings, if their siblings choose to stay at their current school. They also would not be able to ride the bus to their school.

The revision comes after more than 2,000 people provided feedback to the district online.

Most of the feedback from people concerned the proximity of their school to where they live and having stability in school assignment for students, followed closely by concern for transportation issues.

People can see if their address is impacted on the district's website, here.

The district made only one change to the final draft from the second draft presented in October: Moving Salem Middle School students who neighbor Carnage Middle School into Carnage, several miles closer.

District officials said they had only accidentally omitted the change from previous drafts.