Some Hard Truths for folks thinking of moving to Cary: (Raleigh: income, job)

[toxmed]

...I bought a house in our Cary neighborhood because of the excellent schools and now its a NIGHTMARE because....after a year my son gets reassigned again, from an excellent traditional schedule school less than 0.5 miles from home, to which he was walking, to another 3 miles away. He was however fortunate that he was able to grandfather in to his previous school. My daughter will however be in a different school, on a year round schedule. This means that holidays for my son will not be the same as for my daughter; she will have 2 weeks off every 9 weeks of school, while he has the traditional summer break and winter holidays. However, I am not as concerned about our kids as about the lower income kids that are being shipped from Raleigh and Garner to his school, some 45 minutes each way. These are children as young as 5 years old that will jolt their way very early in the morning to make the 7:45 am start time at the school. Oh yeah...They can wake up and smell the diesel fumes... which reflects what the absolutely demented Board of Education and the Wake County Public School system (WCPSS) think anyway.

This whole exercise is simply for the purpose of leveling the income ratios among different schools, as measured by the number of kids availing of Free or Reduced Price lunches (F&R). This is done by completely ignoring the basics of a sound elementary education, Stability, Neighborhood and Family Support, and Proximity. The reassignment proposal targeted almost 6000 elementary students this year while it has happened to almost every level of school at least once. Middle and High schools have been and will be reassigned again.

The School Board is composed of 9 members from 9 different districts; each district elects one member. Moderator cut: removed
This has been well documented in the local papers and Blogs esp. the following (newsobserver.com |WakeEd, and Cary News | Schools). Moderator cut: removed
The board is composed of dross individuals Moderator cut: removed
who have long passed the stage of school age child rearing and now sit and pass policies on All of Wake county for their thrills. However, as you may have noted, although the board members act on behalf of All of Wake county, their election to the board is not based on votes from All of Wake county, a major accountability issue. Essentially they have no accountability. Parents pleas and alternative solutions are completely ignored; they hold public hearings that make no difference, even though the majority of parents affected are against this policy.

The parents of Wake county care genuinely about the welfare of ALL kids in the county, and do not believe that such reassignment every year makes for a sound education. We believe that there are much better ways to enhance educational opportunities than just busing kids from one part of the county to the other. For more information please go to: KeepLocalSchools and check out the issues listed. Also, go to WakeCARES to see the fight for traditional v. Mandatory Year round conversions.

All I can say is that if you have this urge to move to Cary, NC because of it being one of the Best places to Live in the USA on Money magazine, think again! If stability in good schools for your kids is a priority for you, then think again about moving to Cary, NC! If having a say in where your kids can go to school is important to you, then think again about moving to Cary, NC! If accountability in school governance is important to you, then think again about moving to Cary, NC! However, if you want good weather, and a fair standard of living, and if you can afford Private Schools for all your children, then sure move down here, and buy my house in Cary, NC!

Having moved down from the N East due to my job, I feel cheated because my kids education are my first priority, and it seems that we landed in the middle of a fascist social engineering experiment that cares little about my kids or yours, and is all about numbers and statistics.

You are hereby warned...and do not believe what the realtor's may say to you about this. Just remember that Good and Stable schools are a large part of the market value of a home...Do your own research, check the local papers, then decide if you really want to move here, if your children's education is a priority in your life...
Regards

[MrsSteel]

Or, you know, you could just chose to live in a different school district. Wake is not the only option for public schools, you know. There's Chapel Hill & Carrboro, Orange County, Durham County, Chatham County, Johnston County, and Franklin County.

[NC from MA]

Is this a problem only in Cary, or is it a problem for every town in Wake County???

[toxmed]

In all cities in Wake County, which incidentally is the largest county, and has the largest influx of new folks in. Chapel Hill/Carrboro has already ceded from Orange County and runs its own schools.

[toxmed]

Originally Posted by MrsSteel

Or, you know, you could just chose to live in a different school district. Wake is not the only option for public schools, you know. There's Chapel Hill & Carrboro, Orange County, Durham County, Chatham County, Johnston County, and Franklin County.

Thank you for that clarification. However, my post concerned those folks specifically considering moving in to Cary, NC, not other towns.

[MAtoNC!]

Your poll didn't have an option for None of the above, which would be my pick.

If my children are going to be reassigned they are going to be reassigned along with the rest of their neighborhood. I don't think it's going to cause that much instability.

[North_Raleigh_Guy]

That poll seems a bit biased. It assumes that everyone's child will be reassigned and that everybody has moved to Cary for the same reasons.

I am sorry for the problems you face, but not everybody shares your sentiments. And just because a person is happy with their schooling situation it doesn't automatically mean they don't value their child's educational experience.

[slynn41072]

None of the above. We live in Cary and we were reassigned one time with one child when Highcroft opened. All of my daughters friends in the neighborhood were reassigned as well. My daughter nor I had a problem with changing schools. All the schools in our area are good, so it wouldn't bother me if we were reassigned to a new school, although I do like that Highcroft is so close. We are also enjoying year round as well.

[PDXmom]

Originally Posted by MrsSteel

Or, you know, you could just chose to live in a different school district. Wake is not the only option for public schools, you know. There's Chapel Hill & Carrboro, Orange County, Durham County, Chatham County, Johnston County, and Franklin County.

While I don't think reassignment issues will be as severe in Durham or Johnston Co in the next 5 years as it is in Wake Co, reassignment is getting pretty close to the front door of many schools in both Durham & Johnston Co. I've also heard that Orange Co (Hillsborough) will probably be experiencing the same very soon. I honestly thougth I was avoiding reassignment by moving to Durham. Now I highly doubt my oldest child gets through the elementary school assigned to us when we bought this house, much less the high school assigned to us.

It's like Reagonomics... the trickle down effect. Eventually, Franklin Co will be reassigning too. And we all saw how well Reagonomics worked, but I digress.

Bottom line is that all of the school districts in this area are growing so rapidly all of them will see reassignment in the next 12 years, IMHO. Now some districts will see more than others. But even in Chapel Hill there will be reassignments as more people move in, new schools are built, and kids are shifted. This to me is more acceptable than some of the Wake Co stories. But honestly, I think parents in the surrounding districts should be trying to learn from Wake and get involved with their school boards now!!!

[theresak]

You're lucky then. Due to this reassignment, many of my daughter's friends will move to a different school and to different calendars. She has many friends outside just our neighborhood. She meets friends in her classroom - these children come from other neighborhoods (some touching ours).

I agree the schools in this area are all good, but I do believe children need stability. That will not come from moving them several times in their elementary school years - even if all the schools they go to are good schools.