High school grandfathering

Will the school board extend grandfathering to rising sophomores being reassigned to existing high schools?

It happened in 2006, the last time that high school moves were part of a reassignment plan. But rising sophomores aren't mentioned in the district's online explanation of grandfathering that's part of the draft reassignment plan.

For those who are unfamiliar with the term, grandfathering in Wake means that students at certain grade levels can request a transfer to stay at their current school if their node is reassigned. This transfer is automatically approved, but it comes at the cost of students not receiving bus service.

In the past, school administrators have estimated that about half the students take advantage of grandfathering. Those families are more likely to be affluent, or at least not low-income, because they have to be in a position to provide their own transportation to school.

There could be valid reasons for not extending grandfathering to any rising sophomores.

Historically, Wake has never allowed students reassigned to new high schools to grandfather. The reason is that it would leave these new schools too underenrolled. In return, new high schools don't open with 11th- and 12th-grades.

But Wake has historically given grandfathering for rising sophomores being shuffled to existing high schools.

The rationale that parents have given is that it's hard for students who've already started high school to be reassigned and adapt to the environment of an existing school. At least at a brand new high school all students are newbies.

But for the 2006-07 school year, Ramey Beavers, then senior director for growth management, asked the board to drop grandfathering for rising sophomores moved to existing schools. He argued that allowing those particular students to grandfather would make it harder to reduce crowding at high schools.

Board members initially sided with Beavers in October 2005. But the combination of new board members taking office and major parental backlash caused the board in January 2006 to reverse the earlier vote.

 UPDATE

The district has now added rising sophomores to the list of examples of prior grandfathering.