Parents urge Wake County BOE to grandfather students as rezoning plan draws broad opposition

Dozens of parents and residents urged the Wake County Board of Education on Oct. 21 to withdraw or revise a proposed enrollment (rezoning) plan and to include a grandfathering provision for existing families.

Speakers during the public hearing said the plan would move current families into different schools, disrupt students’ social and academic connections and impose logistical burdens on working families.

Neeraj Mathur told the board, “Please stop using your time and resources to move families into underperforming schools. Please instead use those resources to improve the quality of the schools so that more families will want to move to areas already bound to those schools.”

Several speakers asked the district to protect families who already live in impacted zones. Sheila Garrett, a Crestmont resident and White Oak Elementary parent, said grandfathering is necessary because “stability transfers have been offered but they come with no transportation. For working families like mine, that’s not a realistic option.”

Why it matters: Rezoning and enrollment changes affect where children attend school, transportation needs, family routines and housing choices. Many speakers framed the issue as one of fairness for long‑established neighborhoods.

What speakers said

- Proximity and repeated calendar changes: Sutherland community representative Hooman Hushiar said his neighborhood has faced multiple calendar and school assignment changes over several years, and noted his neighborhood represents about 25 students at White Oak — “not a big enough number to make a big impact on the overall enrollment numbers at White Oak Elementary.” He asked the board to reconsider assignment of his settlement area.

- Grandfathering request: Multiple speakers, including Neeraj Mathur, Sheila Garrett and others from the Pines and Spire Bend communities, urged the board to grandfather current students and wait‑listed families so established families can remain with their schools.

- Transportation and calendar mismatches: Several parents cited long bus rides (one speaker worried about a six‑mile bus ride to Balcom) and the burden of differing school calendars for working families if reassigned.

Board process and next steps

The public hearing was the board’s designated time for comments on the enrollment plan; only remarks related to the plan were permitted during the hearing. Board members did not vote on the rezoning proposal at the Oct. 21 meeting. The administration will compile input, and the board will receive materials and continue deliberations in follow‑up sessions.

Ending

Speakers asked for a more transparent, collaborative process and urged the board to consider phased or grandfathering approaches rather than immediate reassignment that uproots students and families.