Raleigh Mayor Nancy McFarlane is speaking out against the new Wake County student assignment plan, and Superintendent Tony Tata says they make changes to address her concerns.
As noted in today's online article by Thomas Goldsmith, McFarlane said the new assignment plan is beginning to hurt efforts to recruit businesses to the area. McFarlane said she is starting to hear that some businesses have second thoughts about coming here.
“With us trying to recruit businesses to come here, we are trying to compete with municipalities all around the globe,” said McFarlane at today's joint meeting of the school board and Wake County Mayors Association. “The big thing is, ‘Where are my kids going to go to school?’ And there’s no answer. That’s a deal breaker.”
The heart of the issue seems to be that the choice plan doesn't include base assignments, which would have more of an impact on new families moving to the area.
Tata said he took McFarlane’s comments seriously and would work with the school board on meeting concerns from company executives and others who worry about the placement of children from newcomers’ families.
Tata said the school board and he would consider moves such as increasing capacity at some schools, even though that would run counter to the plan’s goal of reducing overcrowding by making best use of all schools’ capacity.
“There are some things we can perhaps do better,” Tata said. “As you implement, you learn lessons and take those lessons and try to improve.”
As an example of a means to accommodate more newcomers, Tata said that instead of reducing a given school from 120 percent of capacity to 100 percent, the system could explore going halfway to 110 percent. That would mean the school would have 10 percent more children in attendance than its stated capacity.
Comments
Unfortunately...
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 21:22 — Bob_SconceI think GSIW has gone from being an organization with specific policy goals to an organization that's just interested in "winning." It's like watching a presidential candidate who's falling behind in the polls trying to say anything that will get him elected.
Bev, you seem to have some
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 15:30 — DrActualFactualBev, you seem to have some selective amnesia. There were countless cases of kids from the same family not being grandfathered to the same school and splitting the family apart--you were not only NOT moved with your neighbors, but there was no sibling priority given until it was finally relaxed and I think you may have been off the board by then. The attitudes and approach to diversity/healthy schools balance at all costs including the cost of family unity was what drove the reassignment rebellion and had the board you sat on taken a more lenient approach to transfers, etc. perhaps the entire reassignment fiasco would have never started. At least the proposed plan provides some Long-term stability for families already residing here and keeps students from the same family together if they so choose. In a large system something has to give when you grow...until WCPSS can build schools where the demand is and until we have more capacity handling the people that enter the choice lottery for a seat is probably a better approach to handle crowding than constant reassignment.
...
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 15:58 — SideburnsShe not only has selective amnesia -- she's also a quitter. Just like Dulaney and her hero, Burns. Cry me a river, Bev.
How do you distinguish them
Fri, 04/13/2012 - 22:09 — YouMustBeKiddingHow do you distinguish them from the new quitters: Debbie Goldman; Chris Malone & John Tedesco. Better jump the train before the train jumps the tracks.
Seems like you have...
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 19:46 — bpuli9999some amnesia too. Who's possibly quitting come this November?
I have to wonder if
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:09 — DrActualFactualI have to wonder if McFarlane ever mentioned her dislike of the plan to former Mayor Meeker and his wife...and WEP and Raleigh COC all who endorsed and promoted the plan.
Exactly what I was
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:10 — jenmanExactly what I was thinking! Hello, people. Several of us predicted that these issues would happen with the plan. All of these people jumping on the bandwagon asking for something different now are about a year too late. Nobody wanted to take a stand on this plan because of the politics surrounding the elections. Well the whizzing contest is over, most of the political operatives are long gone (and never really gave a damn about our schools anyway) and we are left to deal with the consequences (good and bad) of this plan.
The plan the staff
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:01 — TarHeelFan3The plan the staff implimented is not the plan WEP pushed nor is it the one the BOE approved. This is tata and peppler's bastard child
Where can I see a link to that?
Sun, 04/15/2012 - 22:29 — raleighlauraI'd like to see proof of that, if you can share the source document. Thanks.
So now they'll tweak the
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:52 — tropicalgirlSo now they'll tweak the capacity limits to accomodate newcomers but my daughter who is 1.4 miles from her school and first on the waiting list and the many other current Wake county resident children like her will get no such accomodation?? If they made the move to have capacity at 110 percent rather than 100 percent now, many people currently shut out from their closest proximity school could get in.
If increasing capcacity is being considered for newcomers later, it should certainly be put into place for current residents now. I really don't want to explain to my daughter next year why we're continuing to drive her to a school far away while the new fifth grader in the cul de sac is getting on the bus with all her friends.
Tropicalgirl have you
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:43 — momof5Tropicalgirl have you decided if you will try round 2? I was advised to sit tight for now. Even though I'm waiting for 17 to opt out of our first choice school, Ms. Peppler said it would be a better chance than playing the lottery in round 2 and being put behind all those in round 1.
I think we will go through
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:55 — tropicalgirlI think we will go through Round Two and apply for the school that is furthest away but that shows a lot of available seats and that gets us on a feeder pattern back with our neighborhood for middle school. Like you, I was told by Ms. Peppler to wait for the proximity list to be addressed but when she told me that she said it would happen the week of March 23. It didn't. Then she said to wait until the end of round two since they were working with principals on capacity and make a decision then based on the proximity waitlist. That still hasn't been addressed even though round two ends tomorrow. At the same time, last week, I received an email from Dawn Baker with the assignment office that the proximity waitlist would NOT be addressed prior to the end of round two. So we could either stay on the waitlist and hope we get lucky or go through round two and choose the school furthest away with no ties to our neighborhood but that is showing seats. If we don't go through round two and then don't get moved off the waiting list, we are stuck providing transportation to a downtown magnet for another year and stuck on middle school feeder pattern that takes us downtown with no transportation. Given our success in moving this year, I don't want to roll the dice on next year.
So we'll go with the lesser of the two evils. And if for some reason we don't get one of the 48 seats that are showing as being available at our round two school (and that student assignment said was accurate), I will be taking my big stack of contradictory emails along with the misinformation currently on the website to the board during the transfer process.
What have you decided to do?
I think we will sit and
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:26 — momof5I think we will sit and wait. Our only option was Laurel Park YR which although it feeds back to Apex we really want all three boys on the same calendar, traditional. If for some reason they allow over capacity then Apex El. would be our best hope of traditional. If we get stuck at our current school I guess we will try again next year. I really pushed Ms. Peppler for some help and she thought if I wanted traditional I should wait. Really I'll I can hope for is they give some on the capacity numbers.
Did you get any timeline as to when they will update waitlists? Do we really have to wait until Apr 26th when round 2 results come out?
I sent an email today asking
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:33 — tropicalgirlI sent an email today asking Ms. Peppler for an update on the status of the waitlist, reminding her that we had been told to wait until the end of round two to apply based on the waiting list being updated and that round two ends tomorrow. I will let you know what the response is. I wish you much luck!
Great, I'll check back to
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 14:47 — momof5Great, I'll check back to see what she said.
I just got a response:
Thu, 04/12/2012 - 00:10 — tropicalgirlI just got a response: "They have not been updated and I would advise you to keep your waitlist position." That sounds to me like she's implying we'll get in but with -6 seats and no word that capacity is being increased, it still feels like rolling the dice. I actually wish I hadn't asked at this point since all it's doing is making me doubt whatever decision we make. My husband still feels that we go through round two for Laurel Park since that is showing 48 seats - but even he is wondering if that's going to change and we'll find out in a few weeks that they took those seats away for whatever reason.
So much for sleeping tonight.
interesting point
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:02 — EBDarcyI agree that if they are going to squeeze more kids in it should be now to benefit the kids already in the system rather than later to benefit newcomers. But I don't know that on a system-wide basis is makes sense. Allowing overcapacity to continue, or creating new over-capacity situations, does nothing to help fill under-capacity schools and new schools that are under-enrolled. And at some point the educational experience in those schools suffers.
If in fact it's only a small number of families who are in your situation, as WCPSS and some here suggest, then there is no reason they can't address each of these situations such as yours on a one-on-one basis.
OH MY...
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:45 — ClearThinker...Never heard of a female mayor giving it to a retired US Army brig. general up his six before. Let's see, so far that's the realtors, the parents, at least three board members, and now Wake County's mayors. Hey Tony...damn thing has failed before it even got off the ground! Who are you going to blame now, dolphin-head?
Tata's student assignment strategy
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:31 — ScoreOneis rooted in military tactics. It's called FUBAR.
More changes tony? I guess you have until July 9th which is the first day of school to continue to "tweak" your master plan. When is the BOE going to start calling this what it is?
Capacity
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 12:41 — Solon77I didn't know that some of these schools had an extra 20% of capacity. Taxpayers will remember in the next bond request. Good thing there is transparency, otherwise think of all of the mistrust.
I don't understand your point
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 13:20 — nmoskal120% means they do not have enough capacity (120 students are attending for every 100 "seats" of capacity) not that they have extra - school is overcrowded. The capacity at which each school has been operating yearly has been publicly available on the wcpss site under demographics for years although there has been disputes over accuracy. In 2007-08 the schools ran at 52% to 130% and last year from 42% to 120%. One of the control components of controlled choice is "balancing" out capacity utilization, which theoretically would mean each school is being used closer to max operating efficiency.
Accuracy of school capacity
Wed, 04/11/2012 - 21:06 — Solon77Exactly my point. This is one more metric that is being manipulated by the administration. Let the administration post the real capacity of the school and the real available seats so that parents can make an informed choice. If parents want their kids to go to a school with 40 kids per class versus a school with 20 kids per class why not let them ?
The accuracy disputes predate this administration
Thu, 04/12/2012 - 08:59 — nmoskalI was referring to disputes in the past. They seemed to come up related to MYR and reassignments (families being reassigned out would argue their school actually had capacity to keep them there).