Wake County offers one of the best ranked pulbic school systems in the country. Our great schools are one of the reasons families relocate to the Triangle. Newcomers move in to enjoy the same benefits we are pleased to offer our children. With this growth, we have experienced some growing pains. Many Parents and students are starting to question the school boards practice of frequent student reassignments to accomodate the growth and to redistribute the family income levels among schools. Neighborhood schools are disappearing and busing is the new norm. Year round school calendars have also been implemented at many area elementary and middle schools. If the method of handling growth and reassignment does not change our school system will suffer.
One of the main complaints is that the school board holds public sessions, but seems to ignore the parental input from these sessions. The reason is simple. Our school board is composed of 9 elected members. Each member represents one of the 9 districts within the Wake Co. School system. These members make decisions that effect the entire school system, but on election day only face the votes of people who live in their small district. We do not go to the polls and vote for all 9 members, only the one seat of our district. A growing grass roots effort to change this is organizing in wake county. They are asking residents to contact their mayors, commissioners and town council members to bring about legislative changes to allow "at large" elections of our school board members. It could be a first step toward a positive change in our school system. The board members would then be accountable to all of the voters they represent.
Schools are so imortant to many home buyers. It ican only help to be involved in the issues that effect the desirability of the area we live and work in.
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