Wake schools releases reassignment proposal. See who could be affected

The Wake County Public School System has released the first draft of its reassignment plan for next school year.

2026-09-04

In a shift from previous year, in which leaders present their initial draft to the school board first, the district released the plan in messages to families and the public Thursday night.

The plan focuses on the opening of the new Morrisville High School, easing continuing crowding in several Wake schools, and changing where some affected families can apply to go if they want a different school calendar. It's not clear how many students would be affected.

Families can provide feedback on the proposal via ThoughtExchange through Oct. 4. Staff will respond to some of the feedback by updating the proposal's Frequently Asked Questions page.

The school board is tentatively planning to vote on a final reassignment plan Nov. 17.

The district already conducted some outreach this spring to families likely to be reassigned meetings and ThoughtExchange forums.

The plan has 21 reassignment proposals. It would move students out of 26 schools and move students into 24 schools.

Morrisville High School is the only new school set to open for the next three school years, a rarity in a district that has long seemed bursting at the seams with new students. But with largely stagnant enrollment in the past decade, the district's crowding has eased somewhat, and the school board has put more focus on renovation projects.

Four new schools are expected to open from 2030 through 2032. Three of them will be elementary schools in faster-growing parts of eastern Wake County, and a fourth will be a new middle school in Morrisville.

The district plans numerous other major renovations throughout the next seven years that could change schools' capacities.

Still, 18 overcrowded schools, mostly in western Wake, have enrollment caps. That means new families who moved to the area are "capped" out of the schools and assigned to overflow schools with available seats. Part of the proposal is intended to reduce crowding at those schools, potentially impacting their future capped status.

The district has done similar reassignments in recent years, gradually lowering its number of capped schools.

Reassignment is normal in school districts across the country, particularly when new schools open. But it's generally been more frequent and widespread in Wake County as the county's population has grown and the district has struggled to build new schools fast enough.

Reassignment was once more widespread, as the district was more aggressive in trying to balance the economic makeup of schools' student bodies, before public pushback nearly 20 years ago led to a cooling. Families often find reassignments disruptive if they like their current school or live closer to it.

In the proposed rules for next year, families generally, but not always, could apply to stay at their current schools as stability transfers, though they wouldn't receive any transportation.

How the new Morrisville high school will affect other school students

The opening of Morrisville High School --- and the need to fill its lower grade levels --- will create a chain reaction of reassignments across western Wake high schools.

Here are the proposals:

• Morrisville High School would receive students from Cary High, Green Hope High, Leesville Road High and Panther Creek High. Morrisville High is opening with 1,800-student capacity. The four existing high schools all have at least 2,200 students and two are projected to be over capacity next year. Panther Creek High is capped.

• Some students from Green Level High would move to Panther Creek High. Green Level isn't capped like Panther Creek but is projected to become more overcrowded. Both schools rely on three dozen trailer classrooms to house students.

• Some students would move from Athens Drive Magnet High to Cary High, which would be well under capacity after students move to Morrisville. Athens Drive High is about at capacity this school year.

When Morrisville High opens, it will only have ninth and tenth graders in its first year. Students reassigned to the school who are older than that can stay at their current high school as regular students receiving busing.

Other western Wake reassignment proposals

The district is proposing other reassignments at southern and western Wake elementary and middle schools in an effort to relieve crowding at capped schools.

Here are the proposals:

• Some students would move from Cedar Fork Elementary to Morrisville Elementary. Cedar Fork is capped, and the change could help them get rid of some trailer classrooms.

• Some students would move from Northwoods Elementary to Pleasant Grove Elementary. Northwoods is capped, and the change could help them get rid of some trailer classrooms.

• Some students from Highcroft, Salem and White Oak elementary schools would move to Mills Park Elementary. Highcroft and White Oak are both capped. Highcroft might be able to reduce the number of trailer classrooms it has. Some families would move to schools closer to them.

• In a related move, some students would move from Salem Elementary to either Turner Creek or White Oak Elementary. The move is designed to send those students to schools that are closer to where they live.

• Some students would move from Salem Middle to Mills Park Middle. That would align calendars for families at those schools who have elementary students at another school. It's also part of the district's preparation for a new middle school opening in Morrisville, Parkside Middle, in 2030.

• In a related move, some students from Mills Park and Lufkin Road middle schools would move to East Cary Middle. That's in response to some development in the area. It would also reduce crowding at Lufkin Road Middle, move some families to a closer school and better align with families' elementary school assignments.

• Some students would move from Mills Park Elementary to Cary Elementary, a move designed to address development in the area.

Proposed Northern Wake reassignments

The proposal also moves students from seven northern Wake schools into nine other schools. Much of it is an effort to respond to development in the area.

• Some students at West Millbrook Middle would move to Carroll Magnet and Leesville Road middle schools, in part to reduce crowding at West Millbrook and adjust to area development.

• In a related move, some students from Leesville Road and Oberlin Magnet middle schools would move to Pine Hollow Middle, in part to assign some students to closer schools that better align with elementary assignments.

• In exchange, some students would move from Pine Hollow Middle to Oberlin Magnet Middle, in part to assign some students to closer schools that better align with elementary assignments.

• Part of the assignment area of East Millbrook Magnet Middle would move to Wakefield Middle, though no one currently lives in that area.

• Some students from Millbrook Magnet High would move to Leesville Road, Sanderson or Wakefield high schools. The move would relieve crowding at Millbrook while also adjusting for development in the area.

• Some students at Rolesville Elementary would move to Forest Pines Elementary, relieving crowding at Rolesville.

Proposed central and southern Wake reassignments

Proposals in central and southern Wake are largely designed to improve convenience for families.

• Some students from Salem and Yates Mill elementary schools would move to Swift Creek Elementary, in part to relieve crowding at Yates Mill and move some students to schools closer to them.

• Some students from Salem Middle would move to Dillard Drive Magnet Middle, to align with elementary school assignments and calendars and to move some families to schools closer to them.

• Some students would move from Willow Springs Elementary to South Lakes Elementary, to relieve crowding at Willow Springs.

• Some students would move from Herbert Akins Road Middle to Fuquay-Varina Middle, to align with elementary school assignments and calendars and to move some families to schools closer to them.

• Some students at Fuquay-Varina High would move to Holly Springs High, keeping some students aligned with their peers from elementary and middle schools and to move some families to schools closer to them.

What's next for families

The district will host three virtual information sessions, one for each of three different affected groups.

The sessions typically include a presentation from staff about the proposal and a question-and-answer session for questions submitted via chat.

The sessions are all from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., and they are scheduled for:

• Sept. 16 for families affected by Morrisville High and its related changes

• Sept. 17 for families in north, northwestern and northeastern Wake

• Sept. 24 for families in central, southern and southwestern Wake

The district will also host an in-person event at Panther Creek High School, where staff will be available to discuss the proposals further.

A public hearing before the school board will take place Oct. 20. That will take place just after the school board is scheduled to review the proposal's feedback.

CORRECTION: Rising 11th and 12th graders whose neighborhoods are being reassigned to Morrisville High School could keep attending their current high school as normal, receiving busing, under the proposal. They wouldn't need to apply to be transfers. An earlier version of this article incorrectly stated how those students could stay at their current schools.