Wake parents criticize student assignment plan, allege favoritism for board members
Some Wake County parents say the school board is showing favoritism by helping fellow members, not their families, in next year’s student reassignment plan.
Wake County school administrators have recommended a plan that would move thousands of students to different schools for the 2025-26 school year.
During Tuesday’s school board public hearing, multiple parents questioned why school board member Lindsay Mahaffey’s Apex neighborhood was dropped from the plan after the first draft was presented in September.
In an interview with The News & Observer, Mahaffey said did not ask for her neighborhood to be dropped. She said she asked staff to look at the public’s feedback on the assignment plan.
“The decision came from the Office of Student Assignment,” Mahaffey said Tuesday.
“It was their directive,” Mahaffey said. “It was not an advocacy for a neighborhood.”
Families question dropping Mahaffey’s neighborhood
Most of the plan impacts southern and southwestern Wake, where several new schools are scheduled to open in next fall.
That includes the new Pleasant Plains Elementary in Apex. In the first draft of the plan, Mahaffey’s neighborhood was among multiple neighborhoods that were recommended to be moved to Pleasant Plains.
But among the handful of changes staff made in the updated proposal, children who live in Mahaffey’s Bella Casa subdivision no longer will move and will now stay at Scotts Ridge Elementary.
Assignment staff said dropping the neighborhood would allow Bella Casa families to be split between two elementary schools, not three.
But some parents didn’t accept that explanation. They argued that it would make more sense to assign Bella Casa to Pleasant Plains because it’s closer than other neighborhoods being reassigned.
“Our representative has only addressed concern for her neighborhood, which was removed from rezoning plans despite being closer to the new school,” parent Madison Hester said to the board. “Where is the equity? Where is the support for all students and not just those that sit closest to you?”
Mahaffey is married to Apex Town Councilmember Terry Mahaffey.
“This has totally been in favor of our representative’s neighborhood, who coincidentally has a husband sitting on the council,” said parent Christopher English.
During board member comments, Mahaffey thanked the parents who spoke at the public hearing.
View the Wake student assignment plan
The exact number of students who could be reassigned usually isn’t provided until the final version of the assignment plan.
The public can view the plan at wcpss.net/2025enrollmentproposal. People can see whether their address is affected by searching osageo.wcpss.net/enrollment-proposal-lookup.
In 2025, Wake is opening Felton Grove High School in Holly Springs. The district will also open Bowling Road Elementary in Fuquay-Varina, Pleasant Plains Elementary in Apex and Rex Road Elementary in Holly Springs.
New students are also being moved to take advantage of the additional capacity after a major renovation of Baucom Elementary in Apex.
Thirteen parents spoke at Tuesday’s public hearing.
The test for how successful parents are in keeping their children from being moved will come on Nov. 26, when administrators present any final revisions to the plan. The school board also will vote on the proposal that night.
Some students who are moved will be eligible for “stability transfers,” which will allow them to stay at their current school if they provide their own transportation. Eligibility varies depending on whether students are being moved to a new or existing school and what grade level the student will be in the following year.
Calendar mismatch for families
One of the largest contingents at Tuesday’s public nearing were families from the Jordan Pointe and Woodbury subdivisions in Apex, who face being moved to Pleasant Plains Elementary.
Jordan Pointe families want to stay at Scotts Ridge Elementary while Woodbury families want to remain at Apex Friendship Elementary.
The reassignment will also mean families will change calendars because Pleasant Plains will open on a multi-track year-round calendar. The multi-track calendar can increase a school’s capacity by 20% or more by putting the building in constant use throughout the year.
In October, student assignment staff said the reassignment is needed to relieve severe crowding at Apex Friendship and Scotts Ridge. Administrators also said that the year-round calendar is needed at Pleasant Plains Elementary to help with crowding and to accommodate future growth in the area.
But on Tuesday, speakers said it would impose multiple hardships on families, including some students being at three different elementary schools over a four-year period.
“You, the school board, have the authority to pause, reconsider and make changes,” Hester said. “The changes you make now will have real lasting impact on students’ lives.”
Jen O’Brien, parent, said she’ll spend an extra $4,200 a year on childcare because the reassignment means her children will attend schools on both year-round and traditional calendars.
“Why are our families being uprooted by this burdensome and unnecessary calendar change?” O’Brien told the board.
‘You’re either lying or incompetent’
Several speakers spoke out against the reassignment of the Ashley Downs and Pearson Farms subdivisions in Apex from Olive Chapel Elementary to Baucom Elementary. Student assignment staff said it would ease overcrowding at Olive Chapel.
Parents have argued the move doesn’t make sense because their children live close enough to walk to Olive Chapel. But assignment staff said a sidewalk connection involves crossing a high-speed road and Interstate 540.
Parents corrected the staff, saying students cross a pedestrian bridge over the road and highway.
“You’re either lying or incompetent, and I don’t know which is worse,” parent Robert Treder told the board.
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