In what's become a perennial issue on school bond issues, Wake County commissioners have questions about why school renovation projects cost so much money.

During last week's joint meeting, Joe Bryan, chairman of the board of commissioners, asked why this school district needs list. includes an $82.4 million renovation for Fuquay-Varina High School. He also asked why they're proposing more renovations for Cary High School at $37.6 million and at Enloe High School for $30.9 million.

Bryan noted that the proposed cost for Fuquay-Varina's renovation is more than the cost for building Rolesville High and the new West Apex High.

UPDATE

I've corrected the link in the post to view the presentation from school staff on the district's facility needs.

The Wake County school board will deal today with another consequence of abandoning the Forest Ridge High School site in favor of Rolesville High School.

During the work session, school administrators will propose that Wake Forest-Rolesville High School be renamed Wake Forest High School because Rolesville High is opening in August. There's a price tag for the change.

According to this handout, it would cost $20,000 to change the name of the sign in front of Wake Forest-Rolesville and to change the sign in the main gym. But the big price tag is the estimated $100,000 in new uniforms for the high school to reflect the name change.

UPDATE

School board members indicated they'd support renaming Wake Forest-Rolesville High and Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle at the April 9 meeting. The discussion was mixed on West Apex HIgh with several board members said they'd like Friendship High. But at staff's urging, they'll see what the Apex Town Council does tonight.

The 2013-14 student assignment plan is now becoming more real for Wake County families.

Between today and Monday, currently enrolled students will receive their initial notice of school assignment for the upcoming school year. This notice grandfathers students at their current schools with their current transportation unless they're reassigned to one of the three new schools — Richland Creek Elementary, Rolesville Middle and Rolesville High.

The notice will have rising sixth- and ninth-graders being assigned to their base schools. This means that magnet students will have to submit an application, whose approval will be guaranteed, to stay in the program, and that people who want the choice plan feeders will need to request it in the first transfer period.

For families who've been oblivious to the recent student assignment discussion, the notices could be a rude surprise.

The Wake County school board announced new principals tonight for Rolesville High School and Harris Creek Elementary School.

Ericka Lucas will be the first principal of Rolesville High, which is opening in August. She will receive a salary of $105,515.

Lucas has been principal of the East Wake School of Arts, Education & Global Schools — one of four schools that make up East Wake High School in Wendell — since 2009.

Tracie Sauers was promoted from assistant principal to principal of Harris Creek Elementary in North Raleigh with a salary of $79.030. Sauers has been at Harris Creek since 2010.

UPDATE

Click here for bio sheets.

The procession of unhappy Wake County parents continued at Wednesday night's student assignment public hearing.

As noted in today's article by Colin Campbell, the meeting's location at Rolesville Middle School meant that several northern Wake parents objected to being assigned to the new schools. At the prior two hearings held in other parts of the county, only one of those affected parents spoke out.

For instance, Pamela Page of Wake Forest objected to sending her children to the modular campus being used by Richland Creek Elementary. She wants her children to stay at Jones Dairy Elementary.

The Wake County school board gave preliminary approval today to some changes to the 2013-14 student assignment plan.

Board members said they're listening to parents as they dropped some proposed node changes and changes in calendar options. The Durant Trails and Bedford residents who had been lobbying for changes should be happy.

The changes are:

SEE UPDATE AND CORRECTION AT END OF POST

Is it possible that the next Wake County school construction bond issue might not go on the ballot until 2015?

As noted in today's article by Thomas Goldsmith, Wake County Commissioners Chairman Paul Coble said Monday he couldn't promise that a bond issue will be on the 2013 ballot. He said it would be a mistake to put a bond before the public until the school board resolves uncertainty about student assignment and who will take over permanently for fired Superintendent Tony Tata.

“There are things that have to happen before we move forward,” Coble said during an interview after his state of the county address. “The voters are not happy with the school board.”

You can take a glass is half empty or half full view of Wake County student assignment in the short term.

As noted in today's article, the good news for families in the immediate future is that the 2013-14 plan is expected to have relatively few reassignments. But it's very much a transitional plan with a new plan to be developed for the 2014-15 school year that's likely to include a lot more reassignments for things such as promoting balance in student achievement and socioeconomic diversity.

"We were looking at trying to give the staff and the parents a respite so we could have the larger discussion that it seems like we’re trying to have right now, that we could have the larger discussion to put together a sustainable assignment plan," said board chairman Kevin Hill.

After a week of tearing into each other, Wake County school board members finally found something they could agree on Thursday night.

As noted in today's article, Republican and Democratic board members unanimously agreed to scrap the 2013-14 draft assignment maps in favor of going to the 2011-12 base maps. The fact they were agreeing drew several mentions and jokes at the board table.

The change occurred when board member Jim Martin interrupted the discussion of how the draft maps would affect the percentages of low-income students next year.

UPDATE

The 2011-12 base address lookup feature is still up. Click here to view.

If you don't remember what the pre-choice plan maps looked like in 2011-12, click here to refresh your memory. The link puts you on Wake's school directory page. Pick a school and then click on its assignment tab. Under the assignment tab you'll find a link to a PDF map for the 2011-12 base assignment area.

If you live near Rolesville High, Rolesville Middle, Richland Creek Elementary's permanent campus off US 1 in Wake Forest near the Franklin County line or Abbott Creek Elementary's permanent campus near the North Wake Landfill you can expect you might be added to their base areas.

Also, if you live in Panther Creek High's base look for change as you're reassigned to Green Hope High since they're not using a standalone ninth-grade center for PCHS.

The board agreed with the stay where you start rules proposed in the draft plan so you'd be able to grandfather if you're an existing student.

Rolesville Mayor Frank Eagles took some jabs at Wake County school board member Chris Malone in endorsing Lori Millberg for the state House 35 seat.

In this Monday press release from Millberg announcing endorsements of current and former area mayors, Eagles says that "unlike her opponent, Chris Malone, Lori has served our community with integrity and honesty."

Millberg, Malone's predecessor on the school board, is the Democratic nominee for the House 35 seat. Malone is the Republican nominee for the seat.