In a 4-3 split the NC Supreme Court ruled that school boards have the statutory authority to assign students to year round calendar schools without parental consent. Had the Wake County School Board been responsive to the concerns of the many citizens negatively impacted by their decisions and responded to those elected officials acting on behalf of taxpayers in Wake County in a meaningful way all of this would have been avoided. 

We are saddened by the impact this will have on the citizens of Wake County; not only those seeking traditional seats, but those seeking year round seats and those currently enrolled in the year round program as well. Parental input in student assignment has been further limited. 

While we were not successful in getting the “pot of gold” at the end of the rainbow, we were able to expose the true colors of the WCPSS and the administration.

As growth has slowed dramatically, it has become abundantly clear that the conversions were implemented largely to further the diversity policy at all costs without any studies to validate this program. 

As a result, the WCPSS school board has consistently shown a willingness to sacrifice families and compromise education despite the lack of evidence to support an academic benefit or to justify the fiscal expenditure.

The failure of the legislature to clearly define their intent at the time of the calendar law resulted in our loss at the NC Supreme Court. Please continue to contact your state legislators and other elected officials to make your voice heard.

The NC Board of Education clearly understood the intent of this calendar law when they wrote Policy EEO-V-000, requiring LEA’s to request waivers for all YR schools after the 2003-04 school year.

Wake Schools are NOT in compliance with this policy.

The massive implementation of the mandatory year round calendar to select parts of the county, the unsubstantiated scare tactics and threats, the lack of responsiveness with citizens and the many elected officials who have consistently expressed concern, the declining test scores, and the massive reassignments are just a few examples of the issues which indicate the need for major reform within the WCPSS.    

In October, there will be four open seats on the Wake County Board of Education. We must elect candidates who possess the strong leadership skills necessary to fulfill the promise of a quality public education for every student, show responsiveness to families, implement programs to increase academic achievement and measure the results. These candidates must also research and carefully consider the impact of their decisions on communities and property values.

Please keep informed and involved by checking the websites and signing up for email lists of WakeCARES, Save our Summers, WCSA.

WakeCARES would like to thank all of our supporters in our efforts to advocate for choice, a quality education, fiscal responsibility and accountability within Wake County Schools. 

Wake Schools Community Alliance

Today’s children are tomorrow’s leaders. To prepare them for the future we must have high expectations for every student, a challenging curriculum, qualified teachers and schools and programs that foster parental involvement and community support. The Wake County Public School System needs to return its focus to the education of all children and must be held accountable for their results and actions.

The most critical thing to occur if our school system is to achieve these objectives and maintain and exceed their current standards, is for more citizens to play a more active role in the decision making process.  Too many of us have been too unaware and uneducated of the facts related to planning within our school system. If the WCPSS is to improve its current course, it will take a lot of community involvement. This means that a lot of individuals will have to take some action. Educating ourselves and getting involved is the only way to ensure that taxpayers and citizens throughout the county get the school system that is best for our county, and not the one that we default to because no one was paying attention.

This fall, there will be four open seats on the Wake County Board of Education and you will have the opportunity to bring positive change to the WCPSS and finally have your voice heard. We will update you as candidates who possess the strong leadership skills necessary to fulfill the promise of a quality public education for every child are identified. We urge you to get informed and involved.

Please contact us to find out how you can help.

A recent article ran in the News & Observer regarding school violence in Wake County.  WCPSS administrators would like us to believe that violence is decreasing in our schools however a long term view shows otherwise. In the 1997-98 school year, NC Department of Public Instruction (NCDPI) reported 4.9 acts of violence per 1,000 students.  In 2006-07, the last year recorded, Wake County schools reported 8.92 acts of violence per 1,000 students.  While this reflects a decline over the 2005-06 school year (9.6 acts/1000), it has drastically increased over the last 10 years.

The following links will allow you to view Wake County schools compared to other counties of North Carolina as well as each individual Wake County schools statistics. We encourage you to do your own research.

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/research/discipline/reports/schoolviolence/2006-07schoolviolence.pdf

Wake County compared to other NC counties - page 27

http://www.dpi.state.nc.us/docs/research/discipline/reports/schoolviolence/2006-07schoolviolence.pdf

each individual Wake County school - page 84

Wednesday, August 27,  the North Carolina Supreme Court announced that they would hear the WakeCARES vs. WCPSS lawsuit regarding parental consent for students to attend year-round schools.

The court also announced that the previous Appellate Court decision continued to be “stayed”, and that Judge Manning’s ruling from the Suprerior Court Trial is still in effect.

This means, that parents in the Wake County Public School system are still entitled to a traditional option, and are NOT mandated to attend a Year Round school.

The Supreme Court Hearing date has not been set at this time.

Again, we appreciate the support we have received from parents throughout Wake County who value choice, and a say in their child’s education.

Your continuted support is appreciated.

We are very appreciative of the North Carolina Supreme Court granting a stay of the Superior Court ruling. We are cautiously optimistic and are grateful that parents will for a time continue to have a say in their child’s school calendar in the Wake County Public School System.

Recently, an editorial in the News & Observer encouraged the WCPSS Board of Education to reach out to and work with parents affected by the hardships of a forced year round calendar. We echo that sentiment, and continue to hope that the WCPSS will be responsive to parents on this issue.

Again, we thank all of those who support WakeCARES, and encourage you to join our email list, and donate to our organization as we continue to advocate for parent’s rights in the Wake County Public School System.

Update: media links on the story:

News and Observer: Court blocks year-round school ruling
WRAL: Supreme Court halts Wake year-round plans
NBC17: State Supreme Court Blocks Ruling On Year-Round Schools

While we are disappointed that the ruling was not entirely in our favor, we are currently reviewing our options, and considering requesting a discretionary review by the North Carolina Supreme Court.

We sincerely appreciate the support and donations we have received. You have helped to make our voices heard, and you can continue, as we will, to advocate for parent’s rights in the Wake County Public School System by supporting at large elections of school board members.

Click here to read the ruling.

The WCPSS will issue letters asking parents for consent to have their children attend year-round schools. The administration will make their recommendations for traditional calendar schools for those who require a seat to the BoE at their April 22 meeting. Then, the consent letters are to be sent by mail. While many are struggling with the forced conversions of schools to the year round calendar, there are still many other families who applied for year-round calendar seats this spring that were denied. The decision made by the Wake County Board of Education not to evaluate the need for each calendar will again make their responsibility to manage class sizes and school enrollments very difficult and will continue to waste valuable taxpayer dollars. No opinion from the NC Court of Appeals has been released as of yet. Families in Wake County are guaranteed the right to a traditional calendar seat.

At WakeCARES, we appreciate your support and will continue to advocate for All children in Wake County. Please contact us with any questions or comments.

Thanks to the support of many citizens, families, businesses and elected officials who share our beliefs, WakeCARES is continuing with its efforts to maintain choice and to advocate for accountability and responsiveness within the Wake County Public School System. One positive outcome of these efforts has been the legal ruling against mandatory year-round assignments and currently, all families in Wake County have the right to a traditional calendar seat. The Wake County Public School System has appealed this ruling and would like to take this right away from families. The appeal has been heard in the Appellate Court and we are awaiting the outcome. The next possible response date is Tuesday, April 1, 2008.WakeCARES would like to thank you for your ongoing support in advocating for education in Wake County. This support has played an integral part in our success and is greatly appreciated.
Currently we are in the process of updating our website. Please check back often for updates and new information.

In an effort to have a greater voice in the decisions of the Wake County Board of Education, please contact your state elected officials and support “at large” elections. Request legislation that would require all of the Wake County Board of Education members to be elected countywide on staggered terms during even years in November.

Click here to read Judge Manning’s Ruling on MYR regarding the school system mandating a year-round calendar; this schedule is not uniform and requires informed parental consent.