Get ready for some overcrowding in parts of the county now that assignments to Forest Ridge High, Rolesville Middle and Walnut Creek Elementary have been put on hold.
As noted in today's article, the school board voted Tuesday to delay the assignments to those three schools by two years because the recession has delayed when they'll open. There will be consequences.
Not assigning students to Forest Ridge High until 2012 means that Wake Forest-Rolesville and Wakefield high schools will need to keep their off campus ninth-grade centers until at least then.
Asst Supt. Chuck Dulaney said the opening of Heritage High in 2010 means that high schools in the northeastern part of the county won't be any more crowded in the next couple of years than they are now.
But Dulaney said they'll have to scuttle the idea of using the current 9th-grade centers to early start an elementary school or middle school.
"We do anticipate some negative impact on our elementary and middle schools because we won’t be able to use the 9th-grade centers for something else,” Dulaney told the board.
You could see more modular units coming to schools in northern Wake now.
The delayed opening of Rolesville Middle until 2013 could aggravate overcrowding at Wake Forest-Rolesville and Heritage middle schools.
Dulaney said they may need to add more modular classrooms to Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle.
As for Heritage Middle, Dulaney said they could reduce the number of year-round applicants accepted into the school. But he said this could worsen crowding at Wake Forest-Rolesville Middle and reduce the ability of families to keep elementary and middle school siblings on a year-round calendar.
Board member Lori Millberg said a number of Wakefield Middle parents say their lives would be made "infinitely easier" by making the school year-round.
Dulaney said it's something that the board might want to discuss with county commissioners as they decide how much to use year-round schools in the next bond issue.
Dulaney said the school they're going to have to watch more closely because of the delayed opening of Walnut Creek Elementary to 2013 is Hodge Road Elementary.
Dulaney said they might have to add more modulars to Hodge Road and use spot nodes, which would send students to a different school.
But Millberg said she's worried that Hodge Road no longer looks demographically like other Knightdale schools. She said that Hodge Road is so out of line now that "everybody who can get out tries to get out.'
Millberg said they had been hoping that reassigning students to Walnut Creek would help Hodge Road. She said she's not sure that the board can let the situation continue at Hodge Road while waiting for Walnut Creek to open in 2013.
Another school impacted by delaying Walnut Creek is Timber Drive Elementary. Options at Timber Drive include adding more modulars, accepting fewer year-round applicants and reducing the school's application area.
Dulaney said it may become necessary in the next year to propose additional changes to the reassignment plan because of the delayed openings. But he said his staff wasn't prepared to make that call Tuesday.
Click here for a district link that summarizes the impact of delaying the assignments.
Comments
I think what you're asking
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:53 — CaryMomof4I think what you're asking is how he voted on school board items, not how he voted in the general elections. I don't see a summary anywhere, but you can read the minutes for each meeting to see how members voted on action items at that meeting here: http://www.wcpss.net/Board/minutes/index.html Hope that helps some.
(sorry - I thought I was posting this under the original question)
It is, sorry for not being more clear
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 21:28 — g88ky07Thanks!
*** Mr. Hui,
Is there anywhere else that is condensed and to the point on past school board votes? What they voted on, who voted and how they voted?
Thanks.
Not that I'm aware of.
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 21:43 — KeungHui (author)Not that I'm aware of.
Respectfully, so these people who hold
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 22:25 — g88ky07a publicly elected office have no public record of how they vote on matters related to their "job" and our children. So if that's the case then I guess we can go with whatever we want to assume, or guess, on how they voted on past issues and it's our word against theirs? That can't be correct, but I can sure work from that angle.
I am not saying that there
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 00:50 — KeungHui (author)I am not saying that there are no public records of how board members voted. You can find the individual votes in the minutes for each board meeting. The vote totals for some of the more contentious items are in print in stories or in the blog. What I'm saying is you don't have some handy dandy individual document that lists every single vote taken on every issue over multiple meetings. You can go through the meeting minutes and compile the individual votes yourself if that's what you want to do.
I'm not saying that I will
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 09:14 — g88ky07Delaying New School Openings
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:27 — RMC10I'm not familiar with the Wakefield schools/area, but these three schools - are they out of the ground now, are they completely built - what is the construction status 3 years after the bonds were voted in. Is this part of the missed market share population, where the Wakefield area has just been caught in the downturn and population didn't not meet those high student increases projected 2 years ago by this Board? Were these schools needed there, or was this just another reassignment dumping ground, since it says "fill the schools with",
If WCPSS owns the land there, doesn't it make sense to put the trailers on the land, not overcrowd surrounding schools, and at least not get negative value or utilization from the funds already spent there. Or, to avoid overcrowding rent vacated office/retail space to house the schools in.
Or, is this just another "the sky is falling" cry to try to get monies that were withheld from the WCPSS by commissioners or to cash in on some of that new stimulus money for free.
Can someone please provide the "scoop" on this area?
So...
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:43 — Bob_Sconce(1) Wakefield ES, MS & HS are all about 10 years old.
(2) Area surrounding Wakefield Schools is pretty stable -- hasn't been significant new construction in 4-5 years.
(3) Wakefield ES was converted to year-round in the original conversions. In doing so, its population shrank (students were reassigned OUT of WES) by about 10%. Instead of having one track track into a classroom when another track tracks out (the idea behind YR schools), students track back into the same classroom, which just sits vacant while they're tracked out.
(4) WHS is very overcrowded for the building -- the school was built, then trailers were added, then a "pod" was added, then a remote "9th grade center" was leased, then a pod was added to the 9th grade center. It's the largest (by population) High School in the county.
(5) WMS is about at capacity -- 1322 students enrolled v 1309 planned capacity. It has 13 mobile classrooms.
(6) Instead of converting WMS, sending students to Durant Rd Middle (71% capacity), East Wake Middle (77% capacity) & East Millbrook Middle (94% capacity) seems like a better approach if they're running short on middle school spots.
(7) WF-R HS is being renovated this year, with WF-R students going to the newly-build Heritage HS. When Heritage opens next year, overcrowding at WHS should go down some.
...
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:45 — Sideburnshttp://www.wcpss.net/facilities/ProjectDirectory.html
OT
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:24 — Sideburnshttp://www.newsobserver.com/138/story/1634627.html
Poor Ruth's applecart has been upset.
So...
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 15:47 — Bob_SconceI drove to school today to pick up the kids (normally they just walk). Since I didn't have a carpool number, I had to go, park in the school parking lot and get the kids manually.
Since it was that period which is supposed to be used for "Professional Learning Communities" (or whatever they call them), I expeced the parking lot to be fairly full with teacher's cars. Nope. Maybe 15 cars -- the lot was basically empty.
So much for that brilliant idea.
"I drove to school today to
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 08:34 — user1234"I drove to school today to pick up the kids (normally they just walk)."
Sounds like you are skewing the average down on the "bussing kids all over" if they normally walk. Unless they 26 mile walk abouts daily. :-)
Trailblazer Edition® Statistical Sampling
Thu, 08/06/2009 - 09:21 — Dadof3Cringe-worthy in a very pathetically lame way.
Maybe they all use Chuck's
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 16:09 — CaryCurmudgeonMaybe they all use Chuck's jet-packs to get to school?
oh Ruthie dear, don't
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:55 — AngelaWoh Ruthie dear, don't forget it's TODAY one hour early, NEXT Wednesday 2.5
got it?
Isn't it sad
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:55 — g88ky07that something has FINALLY affected Ruthie's world!
Enjoy carpool Ruthie!
Wakefield MS
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:49 — Bob_Sconce"Board member Lori Millberg said a number of Wakefield Middle parents say their lives would be made "infinitely easier" by making the school year-round."
Doing that would also make life "infinitely harder" for parents with kids in both Middle and High School. A better approach would be just to convert Wakefield ES back to traditional, easing the burden on most of the parents she refers to, while not negatively impacting any others. Of course, that doesn't go with Millberg's ethos of doing whatever she can to sc*** Wakefield.
It is nice, however, to see Millberg acknowledge that lives can be very dramatically impacted by calendar decisions made by the school board.
ditto Leesville and Patti
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:09 — AngelaWditto Leesville and Patti Head....although Patti acknowledges nothing!
Talking Point
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:50 — NCParent"But Millberg said . . . that "everybody who can get out tries to get out.'"
She was referring to Hodge Road, but actually, I think this could be said of a lot of Wake County parents. Many who can go private or homeschool because they are sick of the year round garbage and tired of reassignment or fear thereof.
...
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 09:26 — SideburnsDidn't the N&O Editor & Columnist Steve Ford just write a piece about the stability of a three-year plan?
And didn't Susan Parry, former School Board member, write an OpEd that said parents should thank the BOE for the stability being offered in this three-year plan?
Who do they think they're fooling?
Every time
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 22:39 — SDR256Every time I heard Chuck talk about the 3 year BIG STABILITY PLAN, it was with great and careful qualifications _IF the budget passed (fat chance) IF the land deals they had in play played through, IF the legal suit had such and such and outcome, yadda yadda yadda. and if the sun comes up tomorrow. You cannot count on these guys for stability! There are too many subscripts, postscripts and ghostscripts.
Hasn't Perry Woods and
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:40 — g88ky07Rita "status quo candidate" Rakestraw said the same thing? You know, Stan Norwalk Jr. and his following!
Wow, changes coming 2 of the last 3 days to the great 3 year "shuffle the kids" plan and there are still 2 days left in the week!
Guess it isn't so stable after all huh Perry!
And remember...
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 11:22 — SideburnsRita Rakestraw doesn't have school-aged children yet. She has no idea the level of frustration parents have with forced calendars, reassignment and being ignored.
Voting records
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:38 — g88ky07Where do we go to get the voting records of school board reps?
Thanks!
www.wakegov.com click on
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 10:59 — CaryCurmudgeonwww.wakegov.com
click on "Elections and Voting" in the mid-screen menu
click on "Voter Registration" on the left nav bar
click on "See if I am Registered to Vote"
enter first and last name of person, and county, then click "submit"
scroll to voting history at the bottom.
Unless I missed it
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 12:54 — g88ky07I didn't get what I was looking for, but I bet you might know where I can!
I'm looking for the current D2 rep's school board voting record.
Thanks CC!
If you mean Horace Tart, the
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:05 — CaryCurmudgeonIf you mean Horace Tart, the web site says he has not missed any elections.
I do
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:08 — g88ky07but I'm specifically looking for all his votes, what the vote was for and how he voted.
?
The WakeGov web site only
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:19 — CaryCurmudgeonThe WakeGov web site only reports whether a person voted, it does not report how they voted.
Shouldn't this info
Wed, 08/05/2009 - 13:23 — g88ky07be public record? Surely it's available somewhere?