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View Poll Results: My Kids will be reassigned from one school to another almost every year in beautiful Cary, NC
Stability in my kids education is paramount to me, I will never move here 28 32.94%
I don't care about stability in my kids education, I will move here for the weather 11 12.94%
I can afford to put all my kids in private school so school reassignment is not an issue for me, I will move here 13 15.29%
These issues have made me think twice about moving to Cary NC. I am unsure of moving to Cary NC. 35 41.18%
Multiple Choice Poll. Voters: 85. You may not vote on this poll

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Old 03-02-2008, 07:08 AM
 
Location: Holly Springs, NC USA
3,457 posts, read 4,639,225 times
Reputation: 1907

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Where we came from up North (CT), the schools were not run on a county basis and they seemed to be handled much better. The town we moved from was notorious for their excellent school systems, they were not caught up in the what may be good for one area, may not be good for another situation that comes from the county wide system. Other towns that were willing to invest in their own school systems saw the dividends pay off too. And any growth was easily nandled by the town.

When I was in High School they bussed some kids in from the city and that program failed miserably. They wanted nothing to do with learning nor did their familes have a vested interest in education and improving the community through education.

It seems that the beauracracy in WCPSS is what is dragging it down, along with the growth.
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Old 03-02-2008, 08:11 AM
 
13 posts, read 74,016 times
Reputation: 16
Default Voting?

Hi, our family will be moving to Wake County this summer. Our child will not be school aged for another 4 years. So I was wondering, if so many people are unhappy with the school system (and given what I've read, I certainly understand why they are), can't the citizens of Wake County act on it by voting out the school board members who are causing the policies that are making people unhappy? Or are the board members so entrenched for some reason? or do the majority of Wake County citizens actually support the redistricting? As a current outsider, just curious about big picture, long term perspectives. It just seems like people would not put up with these policies if they are making people so unhappy.
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Old 03-02-2008, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
8,269 posts, read 25,043,514 times
Reputation: 5591
atltonc, the entire board was just re-elected last year. Not everyone has the issues with WCPSS that the vocal minority seems to have and many people actually support the WCPSS diversity policy. You are just more likely to hear from those who are fighting the system than those who are content with it.

This happens EVERY year, we endure the complaining and the threats of lawsuits for months and then by the time schools starts in the fall, things settle back down again.

Last edited by lamishra; 03-02-2008 at 10:15 AM..
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Old 03-02-2008, 09:40 AM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,157,484 times
Reputation: 9450
People can be so funny sometimes. Think of this...people from other areas mention that their schools are so much better, yet, they are leaving those areas. Why are the schools better? TAXES ARE SO MUCH HIGHER IN THOSE AREAS. Then these same people come here and don't want a tax increase. They come here to pay less taxes and still want the benefit of more schools. Am I simplifying this or am I missing something?

The schools and the roads are having trouble keeping up with growth. Our taxes SHOULD be raised and yet the folks that complain most about the schools want the least amount of taxes.

Vicki

Vicki
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Old 03-02-2008, 10:00 AM
 
718 posts, read 2,966,319 times
Reputation: 313
Quote:
Originally Posted by VickiR View Post
People can be so funny sometimes. Think of this...people from other areas mention that their schools are so much better, yet, they are leaving those areas. Why are the schools better? TAXES ARE SO MUCH HIGHER IN THOSE AREAS. Then these same people come here and don't want a tax increase. They come here to pay less taxes and still want the benefit of more schools. Am I simplifying this or am I missing something?

The schools and the roads are having trouble keeping up with growth. Our taxes SHOULD be raised and yet the folks that complain most about the schools want the least amount of taxes.

Vicki

Vicki

I agree with you.
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Old 03-02-2008, 10:16 AM
 
906 posts, read 2,376,541 times
Reputation: 427
Quote:
atltonc, the entire board was just re-elected last year.
It wasn't the entire board. Only 4 of the nine seats. 2 were incumbents who won (one was unopposed and the other beat out 2 challengers). 2 more retired and those seats went to an unopposed candidate and one who beat out 2 challengers.

One thing that makes it tough to get change done in this system is that the BOE seats are elected by district residents only. So if things are going well for a particular district (like Beverley Clark's), then the people who live there have no reason to vote for change. A problem with this is that while I can only vote for ONE of the 9 BOE members, they all affect what happens in my area's schools. The districts are so different from each other and have different challenges yet 8 of the 9 board members may have little to no knowledge about a particular district.

For instance, one BOE member from ITB Raleigh suggested they save money on new schools by making the parking lots smaller. When other members said that larger parking lots were needed for the new schools, she countered with (paraphrasing here) "well my older schools have smaller parking lots and they deal with it just fine". It was then pointed out that her older schools are located in neighborhoods with off street parking. Many of the newer schools are built on busy roads and when the parking lot is full there is NOWHERE to park. That is a minor example, but it shows how out of touch some members are with what happens in other districts. Wake County is HUGE and has a variety of very different needs.

Another problem with getting change is that if you even question the diversity policy or its implementation, you get branded as a racist, elitist or segregationist. There is still a LOT of baggage in the South regarding segreation and it really affects WCPSS in my opinion. It doesn't have to be all or nothing when it comes to the diversity policy but once somebody questions how its implemented it becomes "you just want neighborhood schools where your school is excellent and has no poor people while the kids low income kids in downtown Raleigh schools are stuck with substandard schools."

I forget how many years ago it was, but somebody did an independent survey and while the majority of people in Wake County saw diverse schools as good thing, they also valued going to school closer to home more. I'm a vocal opponent of how WCPSS implements its diversity policy BUT I'm also usually the only person in a group who actually supports *having* such a policy. I think there are far more many people in Wake (both natives and newcomers alike) who would scrap it than there are who would keep it.

Unfortunately too many people just accept the status quo even if they aren't happy with it. They either just sit back & deal with it or they leave the system. As with ANYTHING, most people who are unhappy with something do not go the extra mile to actually do something about it.
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Old 03-02-2008, 10:40 AM
 
Location: Cary, NC
8,269 posts, read 25,043,514 times
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Raleighjayne is correct that there were a few members who ran unopposed and a few who retired, which doesn't really count as "re-elected". One of the ones who ran unopposed was the only member who vocally favors neighborhood schools. BUT no one on the school board up for re-election was voted OUT as a result of discontent with the system, and this was just 6 months ago.
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Old 03-02-2008, 01:51 PM
 
3,031 posts, read 9,068,056 times
Reputation: 842
Quote:
Originally Posted by North_Raleigh_Guy View Post
I'll give you one hint..... http://www.city-data.com/forum/charl...ket-awful.html

"Out of the frying pan and into the fire" comes to mind.
Yikes. I assumed they moved elsewhere in the Triangle.

I agree that people moving here need to do the research, reach their own conclusions and make their own decisions. For me, WCPSS will not be the answer I am seeking when it comes to my kids' education. Perhaps if I were planning a move from another location with county-wide schools, I'd feel differently. But I'm not going to begrudge someone else a decision to move to Wake and send their kids to Wake Co schools. Just be aware of the pros and cons of every school distirct. Not one is going to be perfect.
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Old 03-02-2008, 01:56 PM
 
Location: Raleigh, NC
12,475 posts, read 32,157,484 times
Reputation: 9450
Quote:
Originally Posted by lamishra View Post
atltonc, the entire board was just re-elected last year. Not everyone has the issues with WCPSS that the vocal minority seems to have and many people actually support the WCPSS diversity policy. You are just more likely to hear from those who are fighting the system than those who are content with it.

This happens EVERY year, we endure the complaining and the threats of lawsuits for months and then by the time schools starts in the fall, things settle back down again.
Yep...EVERY YEAR...and the saga continues!

Vicki
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Old 03-02-2008, 03:10 PM
 
245 posts, read 807,371 times
Reputation: 147
This is pretty misleading- my neighborhood in Cary was built in 1996, and the kids around me have never been redistricted. I know that that is not the case with many of the neighborhoods around me.

I was moved from school to school many times in my youth (due to growth, no one gave two cents about diversity where I grew up in MA). I was on double sessions, went to four elementary schools, 2 junior highs, and 3 high schools. My school district's reputation was not nearly as good as Wake County's, yet anybody who wanted to achieve did so. The bus came and picked us up and dropped us off at whatever school we were at that year. It was not even an issue for us.

There are many amazing resources around here for children, and parents have so many low-cost options for supplementing any deficiencies they see in their child's education.

My family and I went through the magnet lottery so that we could get a smaller school that my kids could continue in when we move from "base" to "base." As I said, our neighborhood has been stable, but we want to be able to move without changing schools. We have had an excellent experience, and the overwhelming majority of parents I talk to have also had good experiences with Wake County schools.

I know that there are unhappy people, and I can understand why they are unhappy, but I just wanted to add my two cents, because we are thrilled to be here in Wake County.
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