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What are your thoughts and concerns regarding Wake County schools?Is such a large county district sustainable?What are the greatest challenges for the future?Is it sensible to never have “neighborhood” schools?Could that change?
I am originally from Connecticut as many people on this forum are.The economic problems there have become severe.Something I never thought would happen is potentially happening...School district consolidation.A bill will most likely be making it to the floor for a vote in the next few weeks.A few relatives are in melt down mode over this and I would be too.Pretty much all Connecticut has left to offer at this point are it’s small quaint towns and their stellar schools.If this bill passes,Connecticut schools would essentially be closer to what is offered in Wake County.If this regionalization actually happens,you will be seeing a lot more Connecticut plates very soon.
Incredibly VAST economic disparities between urban, suburban and rural communites. The People's Republic of Connecticut has some of the wealthiest towns and poorest cities in the US, packed very tightly together.
Good points...Wake County will be one of the largest districts in the country soon.In my opinion,yhat is a negative for potential residents to consider.It makes sense to not want 200 districts that serve populations of 2,000 people each.Cities and towns with more than about 25,000 people could probably operate their own districts efficiently while still remaining somewhat lean.I think that is the sweet spot.
Good points...Wake County will be one of the largest districts in the country soon.In my opinion,yhat is a negative for potential residents to consider.It makes sense to not want 200 districts that serve populations of 2,000 people each.Cities and towns with more than about 25,000 people could probably operate their own districts efficiently while still remaining somewhat lean.I think that is the sweet spot.
Wake doesn't seem to be having any issues growing.
I am all set paying 10-20k a year in taxes for some super high pressure school system with high SAT scores. People move here to get away from that. Most do at least - you do get some that expect the school system to be identical for 10k/year less in taxes.
Incredibly VAST economic disparities between urban, suburban and rural communites. The People's Republic of Connecticut has some of the wealthiest towns and poorest cities in the US, packed very tightly together.
I can’t think of a state that is in a worse situation than Connecticut.If a handful of high earners leave their budget is blown.Mismanagement,corruption and incompetence personified...
Wake doesn't seem to be having any issues growing.
I am all set paying 10-20k a year in taxes for some super high pressure school system with high SAT scores. People move here to get away from that.
I agree,that model will no longer work like it did in the past in states like Connecticut and New Jersey that are bleeding residents due to policies and dire evonomic situations.The majority sitting in the wagon continually want the few pulling to work harder...that is going to be a tremedous challenge moving forward.
I grew up in the NE with small school districts, and was lucky enough to go to the “best” school district in my area. I got an excellent academic education.
I’m raising my kids in Wake county, and obviously things are very different. There are pros and cons, but for me, the pros outweigh the cons. Everyone get access to a quality education here. The opportunity for a rigorous academic experience is there, although the student population is less homogenously academically driven. In addition, the county wide system provides opportunities I never had in my small, highly-rated neighborhood district. My kids have learned a lot beyond what is taught in the curriculum. IMO, they are better prepared for life having been educated in a county wide system.
Location: Chapel Hill, NC, formerly NoVA and Phila
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Although I've not lived in Wake County, my kids went to a similar, very large school district. They now go to a much smaller school district (Chapel Hill), and I grew up going to an even smaller school district in Pennsylvania (with only one high school). Honestly, there are pros and cons to both types of districts. Realistically, some pros/cons are theoretical and may not ring true in practice or may not affect you.
Large Districts:
Pro:
1. more options such as more specialty-type schools
2. more opportunity for kids with different needs to learn together with students like them (basically the opportunity to have critical mass for a specific type of class)
3. economies of scale
Cons:
1. Can be hierarchical
2. Less personalized/more of a number in the school system
3. May have to travel more to get to school/System covers large geographic area so more snow days than necessary
Small Districts:
Pros:
1. Less hierarchical/more personal
2. May be more flexible
3. More likely to go to neighborhood school/know "everyone"
Cons:
1. More expensive to run
2. Fewer specialty options than a big district/
3. May not have critical mass for special classes
I can only share my experiences. In our previous large district similar to Wake, there were tons of opportunities like Japanese/German/French/Spanish immersion that a small district would have a harder time pulling off. However, because of the large size of the district, it was impractical to attend some of those programs because they were clear on the other side of the county. So on paper, it looked really good for the district to offer this, but being personally able to take advantage of it was harder.
On the other hand, where I thought the large size district would make it hard to challenge decisions made at the highest level, I was pleasantly surprised to find out that because of the large size, the principals were given much more autonomy with decisions. Contrast to our current small school district where everything seems to need to be approved at the district level. Example, my daughter missed getting into compacted math here based on her test scores. I tried to contact the principal who immediately put me in touch with the district math person. Principal said she had no leeway to make those decisions. Contrast this with my friend whose son didn't get into Algebra 1 for 7th grade based on his test scores in our old, large district. She called the principal and he said, "Oh, he wants to be in it? I'll put him in." On the other hand, my friend in a small district in PA, said she felt comfortable calling the superintendent if she had a problem. That's not happening in a district the size of Wake. So, to some degree, I think it depends on how the district is set up and how much autonomy they give the individual schools rather than the size.
Despite its small size, Chapel Hill has no problem getting critical mass for its gifted programs because there are so many smart students here, but you're not going to find an arts high school when there are only three high schools in the whole disrict.
And although not universally true that everyone goes to their neighborhood schools here in Chapel Hill, those who travel the farthest for school still aren't going as far as one may be traveling in Wake. And of course there are snow days where one end of the county is covered in snow and the other end is not, but the whole district is closed. On the other hand, Wake County taxes are so much cheaper than those in Chapel Hill (part of that may be the lack of businesses here, but I'm guessing that it's more expensive to run the schools here in any case).
Small districts are more personal. My children know kids in almost every school, so there is a pretty big bond and overlap with teachers/students where we mostly know each other or maybe 1-2 degrees of separation. In my very small district growing up, there is such school spirit. Everyone who lived in my town went to the same public high school if they went to public high school. We have a FB group for our town and it's amazing how much overlap of shared experiences in our high school there are through the decades. We had the same teachers, principal, same school fairs, etc. The school really helps unite the town. We all root for the same team and the overlap with families/neighbors through the years is enormous.
With county-run districts, that kind of camaraderie and home-town pride is much less likely. (Part of this is not just how the school districts are set up but how the government is set up in the state, with northern states being more town run and southern states being more county run).
Those are my thoughts, even though they don't pertain to Wake specifically. Hope that helps.
I can’t think of a state that is in a worse situation than Connecticut.If a handful of high earners leave their budget is blown.Mismanagement,corruption and incompetence personified...
Illinois?
As far as your question, of course county schools are sustainable - they are far more sustainable than small local school districts, especially in states with unfunded mandates like lifetime health benefits and ridiculous pensions. Fairfax County, VA is considered one of the top school districts in the country and has been a county schools for a long time if I'm not mistaken.
Also, despite being on county schools, most people in Wake County go to their neighborhood school. Yes there are people who get sent to overflow schools, yes there are people whose school is not that close to them....but it's still their closest school. The idea that people are getting sent all over Wake County to go to school is hogwash and perpetrated by people who though buying a house on "X" street bought them a seat at the school it's currently zoned for, with no change ever possible.
I grew up on Long Island, which has town based schools. I went to 3 different elementary schools, and I never moved. Growing pains happen everywhere.
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