One thing that became clear on Tuesday is that Wake County families really like 8:30 a.m. start times, especially those whose kids go to elementary schools that start at 9:15 a.m.

As noted in today's article, the school board approved Tuesday this revised 2013-14 school bell schedules for each school. A common theme voiced by board members and the public is the concerns families have with continuing to start most elementary schools after 9 a.m.

Wake operates a two- and three-tier bus system in different parts of the district. This means the majority of buses run two or three routes in the morning and afternoon to save money.

The Wake County school system is looking for public feedback on the proposed bell schedule changes for the 2013-14 school year.

Parent can go here to view the proposal and here to provide online feedback. The school board wants feedback before the March 19 vote.

During Tuesday's school board meeting, Bob Snidemiller, senior director of transportation, said they left 91 percent of schools unchanged to provide consistency. He said they're proposing changes at 15 schools to promote transportation efficiency.

Patience is a virtue that newcomers to Wake County need as they register their children for school this fall.

As noted in today's article, the implementation of the new choice-based student assignment plan changed the way registration takes place in the Wake County school system. In the past, newcomers could come any time of the year to register at their child's base school.

But since June, newcomers have had to go to Central Office in Cary. Parents are told to expect to spend at least two hours as they go through the process of waiting to register their children and then making the school selection.

UPDATE

Nichols went to Salem on Wednesday. The school notified her today that her son would get track 2, putting him a month behind his new classmates.