Is Leesville Road Middle School a safer place since it was converted to a year-round calendar in July?

That's an argument made in a press release Tuesday by BiggerPicture4Wake and at Tuesday's CEM meeting by supporters of keeping Leesville Middle on a year-round calendar. BiggerPicture says that "incidences of violent behavior and school suspensions have dramatically decreased" since conversion.

For instance, BiggerPicture says Leesville Middle recorded 370 suspensions involving 188 students during the 2008-09 school year. But since July 1, the group says there have been 90 suspensions involving 62 students.

Wake County school board member Deborah Prickett is not giving up her quest to convert both Leesville elementary and middle schools back to a traditional calendar.

As noted in today's North Raleigh News article, Prickett said she's weighing the calendar survey results versus the school capacity situation in the area. Even though a majority of Leesville Road Elementary parents who responded in the survey backed keeping the year-round calendar, Prickett pointed to the empty seats at nearby Sycamore Creek Elementary.

“It’s important what the parents said in the survey, but I take a look at Sycamore Creek, and they’re 300 seats below capacity,” Prickett said in the article.

BiggerPicture4Wake is now officially online.

The group reopened its Web site so a password is no longer needed. The group also issued a press release today.

BiggerPicture4Wake forms, supports year-round conversion of Leesville Middle School

A lack of unanimity may have doomed efforts by some parents to get the school board to reverse the conversion of Leesville Road Middle School to a year-round calendar.

As noted in today's article, school board members heard Monday both from Leesville parents who oppose conversion and those who are in support. Board members who supported conversion seized on that division.

"You hear two different things from two different groups," said board member Horace Tart.