" PARENTS VS. THE WAKE COUNTY (N.C.) PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEM

As parents of Wake County Public School students in North Carolina, we would like to inform you of a story that is worthy of national media attention. In August 2006, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) announced plans to convert nearly 30 schools to a mandatory year-round, multi-track schedule to open up additional student seats for the countyÂ’s growing population. Currently there are 16 elementary schools and 4 middle schools following a year-round, multi-track schedule in Wake County, nearly all of which have been, up until now, voluntary application schools.

After WCPSS’s announcement in August, many families at the traditional calendar schools chosen by the WCPSS Board of Education to be converted to a year-round, multi-track schedule were very unhappy about being forced into a schedule that did not work for their families. Year-round multi-track schools operate on a 4-track schedule, through which each track of students is in session for 9 weeks, then on a break for 3 weeks throughout the entire year. At any given time throughout the year one track is on a “track-out” break, so year-round schools can typically hold more students than traditional schools.

The public outcry from parents opposing the mandatory year-round schedule was clear, loud and very strong. WCPSS Board Members and Office of Growth Management staff members began to receive letter after letter from parents who were unhappy with the proposal—including parents of voluntary year-round students who believed school schedule should be chosen, not forced upon families.

The Bond Controversy

Leading up to August, WCPSS Board Members and Wake County Commissioners had been working together to create a “Capital Improvement Plan” for education needs throughout the county. This plan required the passage of a $970,000,000 bond referendum. The exact wording of the bond referendum as it appeared on the Wake County ballot Nov. 7, 2006 was as follows:

Shall the order authorizing up to $970,000,000 in General Obligation School Bonds of Wake County for financing, in whole or in part, the acquisition, construction and equipping of new school facilities and the improvement, renovation or expansion of existing school facilities in Wake County be approved?

There is no mention of the mandatory year-round conversions in the bond referendum, but in the “Capital Improvement Plan” explaining the use of the bond money, a portion of the bond had been designated to pay for the conversions. The public was made aware of this.

In an effort to sway voters to pass the $970 million bond, WCPSS Board Members and the “Friends of Wake County” or FOWC (Builders, bankers and other organizations that would financially benefit from the bond’s passage) spent $500,000 on a marketing campaign to pass the bond that included the use of focus groups.

When the BOE made it clear to parents opposed to the mandatory year-round conversions that they would go forward with them anyway, those parents felt betrayed and pushed into a corner. Therefore, they did the only thing they could do: threaten to vote down the bond. They nearly succeeded: the bond barely passed, with 53 percent voting yes, and 47 percent voting no.

A Broken Promise

During the weeks leading up to the bond vote, WCPSS officials and FOWC members promised to consider alternatives to the mandatory year-round conversions, if only the voters would vote for the bond. Once it passed, there was no mention of looking at alternatives by those same WCPSS and FOWC officials. The BOE moved forward with their mandatory year-round conversion plan and in fact formally asked the Wake County Board of Commissioners to advance $282 million of the approved bond money to fund the following projects: construction of 17 new schools; land purchases for 13 schools; renovations at 13 schools; smaller repairs at 100 schools; the conversion of 22 schools to a year-round calendar; and the purchase of computers. (Source: News & Observer, Nov. 22, 2006).

Patti Head, chair of the Wake County BOE said the following regarding the advancement of funds: “People said there are parts of the bond, and the capital improvement plan, that they may not like, but it’s for the good of the community.” (Source: News & Observer, Nov. 22, 2006).

There are thousands of parents who still do not believe those “parts” of the bond are good for the community. Those parents are also still waiting for the promised “alternatives” the BOE and FOWC said they would consider.

Wake County Commissioners Respond

The public outcry against the mandatory year-round conversions grew louder and stronger. Parents began pleading with the BOE to abandon the policy. Still, the BOE did not listen and continued to move forward with the conversions. Parents had no alternative but to turn to the Wake County Commissioners, who control one-third of the countyÂ’s education budget and have the power to delay the usage of funds contained within the bond package if they feel the taxpayers are opposed to it. Parents wrote letter upon letter requesting that the commissioners NOT advance the funds to the BOE for the mandatory year-round conversions.

On Monday, Jan. 8, four of the seven Commissioners proved they were listening to taxpayers and constituents by voting 4-3 to delay the release of funds supporting the mandatory year-round conversions. Following the lead of Commissioner Paul Coble, those four commissioners rewrote the $282 million spending plan and asked the BOE to build new schools faster instead of resorting to the mandatory year-round conversions, which the public so strongly opposed. In fact, the commissioners gave the BOE approximately $30 million more than they requested—$312 million—to began building the new schools. The very next week the Commissioners restored the $58.9 million the BOE had requested for renovations of some schools, and soon after restored funds for modular units needed at the schools not slated to convert to a mandatory year-round calendar. But they maintained their decision to delay funds for the mandatory year-round conversions.

WakeÂ’s BOE Ignores the County CommissionersÂ’ Request

The day after the County Commissioners voted to delay funds for the mandatory year-round conversions, BOE members voted to continue moving forward with the plan to convert the schools using funds from another, at that time, unidentified source. Parents who felt elated that the Commissioners were looking out for them took a rollercoaster ride downhill when the BOE they had elected to serve the best interests of their children let them down once again.

WakeÂ’s BOE Ignores Parents

In the next few weeks to follow, WCPSS held a series of public hearings to allow parents the right to express their opinion about the 2007-2008 reassignment plan, which included the mandatory year-round conversions. All fell on deaf ears with the exception of a few nodes here and there. Deals were cut but most families were not heard. As January turned to February, the BOE somehow identified a couple thousand traditional calendar seats at various schools across the county, but the scarcity of them made the competition for those highly coveted seats stiff and the probability of obtaining them low.

Parent groups that had formed over the months in protest to the mandatory year-round conversions spent countless hours of their family time researching and producing verifiable evidence that existing schools could handle capacity demands for the upcoming school year. These parent groups asserted this evidence as proof that the mandatory year-round conversions were not needed.

The Commission had another opportunity to vote to release the conversion funds, but they upheld their original decision to withhold the funds and demanded that the BOE look for other alternatives and provide parents with more traditional-schedule options. Still, BOE members maintained their stance that they had “no choice but to move forward with the mandatory year-round conversions.”

Parents Reach Their Breaking Point and Take Legal Action

The parent group Wake CARES announced Feb. 9 that it would pursue legal action against WCPSS to stop the mandatory year-round conversions on the basis that approximately 25,000 children in Wake County were being adversely affected by the proposed conversions as a result of WCPSSÂ’s proposal requiring some, but not all, elementary and middle school students and their families to adapt to a year-round calendar. Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly and Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams announced their strong commitment to the lawsuit as well.

The group hired two high-profile attorneys: Robert Hunter, Jr. and William W. Peaslee. Hunter and Peaslee stated in a Feb. 12 letter to BOE Chair Patti Head, that “Students chosen for this program are purely arbitrary and capricious and many would not be eligible for the few seats the plan calls for to be assigned in existing traditional calendar schools. This mandatory adaptation arbitrarily denies these children equal protection under the law and the benefits of the North Carolina Constitutions and statutes guarantee of a ‘uniform school system.’ ”

On Feb. 12 Wake CARES presented their attorneys’ letter to the BOE, just before the BOE voted to use a portion of their “Undesignated Fund Balance” (typically used for emergency situations that might arise in the district) to pay for the mandatory year-round conversions. They moved forward with the conversions anyway, despite the County Commissioners decision to withhold the conversion funds, despite thousands of parents’ protests and despite the pending lawsuit.

Immediately following Wake CARESÂ’ announcement that it was taking legal action against the BOE, another parent group opposed to the mandatory year-round conversions, Stop Mandatory Year-Round (SMYR), announced it would support the legal action as well. And on Feb. 15, the North Carolina chapter of Americans for Prosperity, an organization of grassroots leaders who engage citizens in the name of limited government and free markets on the local, state and federal levels, announced its support for the legal action.

What Happens Next?

Now here we sit. Parents have written letters, attended public hearings and meetings, scheduled meetings, taken notes, written speeches, conducted research, produced verifiable studies using WCPSSÂ’s own numbers, signed petitions, held protests and finally, filed a lawsuit (there may be more to come). Still, the Wake County Board of Education continues to push forward with a policy parents so vehemently oppose.

We implore you to please cover this story to show our fellow Americans the injustices the WCPSS School Board has forced upon public school families in this county and the affect it is having on real estate values, governmental faith and most important, our children. A public school system can thrive and perform miracles when backed by supportive participants. It will wilt and flounder if lead by elected officials who refuse to listen to the needs of their constituents.

Here are prominent figures, organizations and local news media sources you can contact for additional information about this story.

- Wake CARES: www.wakecares.com
- Stop Mandatory Year-Round: www.stopmandatoryyearround.com
- Americans for Prosperity: www.americansforprosperity.org/index.php?state=nc
- Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly: keith.weatherly@apexnc.org
- Garner Mayor Ronnie Wiliams: (919) 772-5783 or rwilliams@ci.garner.nc.us
- The News & Observer, Keung Hui: khui@nando.com (Mr. HuiÂ’s blog is an excellent resource for understanding how parents view the conversions)
- The Apex Herald, Shawn Daily: apexherald@mindspring.com
- NBC 17: Frank Graff: frank.graff@wncn.com
- WTVD ABC 11: news.director@wtvd.com
- Time Warner News 14: news@news14.com

Written by: Media Leaker

This has also been sent to the national media as well. These people need to be exposed.

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