Wake considering enrollment caps at 4 more schools

The Wake County Board of Education will consider enrollment caps for four new schools. It has 23 capped schools currently. For schools with steadier enrollment, the board is considering removing caps for two and calendar changes for three.

Board members heard presentations about the proposals at their work session Tuesday and their Facilities Committee on Wednesday.

All will likely go to the regular board meeting for a vote Feb. 1.

Board members reacted negatively to the suggestions to cap more schools, citing the frustration for families moving into the area and the potential for some students to be assigned to schools far away given the crowding levels at other schools in western Wake County.

Nonetheless, several board members said they felt stuck between a rock and a hard place in finding an ideal solution to population growth’s coupling with limited classroom supply.

The district is recommending caps for Apex, Holly Ridge, Parkside and River Bend elementary schools. All are well above capacity, ranging from 110.4% to 126.4%.

The caps affect families moving into the base attendance areas and not families already residing there. Caps currently affect 1,627 students, according to district data. That's about 1% of district enrollment.

Potential overflow schools would be Baucom and Penny road elementary schools for Apex, Middle Creek for Holly Ridge, Adams for Parkside and Fox Road for River Bend.

The changes would require 11 new school buses, more bus drivers and increased bus ride times for affected future students.

Capping is also inefficient for school resources, Board Member Roxie Cash argued.

“We can’t sustain capping especially with the busing problems we’re having,” Cash said. Cash said she opposed any more caps on enrollment.

The growth is complicated by changes in class sizes, said Glenn Carrozza, district assistant superintendent for school choice, planning and assignment. The district has lost seats at elementary schools because of relatively new class size caps for lower grade levels and the limited classrooms in each building.

“We just don’t have the seats in the area,” said Glenn Carrozza, district assistant superintendent for school choice, planning and assignment.

The committee also discussed Wednesday its already slow schedule for conducting building maintenance and challenges it’s had since before the COVID-19 pandemic in hiring for such projects.

As the county grows, so do the number of construction projects.

“We cannot build schools fast enough,” Board Member Jim Martin, committee chairman, said. “There’s not enough labor to do it.”

Nor space, Board Chairwoman Lindsay Mahaffey said.

The board can consider capping schools, reassigning students or changing the calendars at crowded schools on traditional calendars, Martin said. Those all require different discussions with the community, he said.

The district recommended removing caps at Combs Elementary and Lead Mine Elementary schools. Both are slightly below 100% capacity.

Board members reacted favorably to changing calendars for three multi-track year-round schools to Track 4 only year-round. A poll of parents showed about two-thirds favored it, as well, though about a quarter opposed it.

The school district studied six schools and recommended the calendar changes for Middle Creek Elementary, West Lake Elementary and West Lake Middle schools. Those schools are under-enrolled, aren’t expected to become crowded and have feeder schools that can align calendars with any students’ siblings who may be enrolled there.