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Parents, teachers urge Wake County board to preserve year‑round calendars; board signals single‑track compromise
Summary
Parents and staff at Pleasant Union Elementary and North Forest Pines urged the Wake County Board of Education to keep year‑round calendars or adopt a single‑track model. Board members said a decision is expected Sept. 2 and several expressed support for a single‑track compromise to reduce disruption.
Parents and staff at two Wake County year‑round schools urged the Wake County Board of Education on Aug. 5 to abandon a staff recommendation to convert their schools to a traditional calendar, saying the change would prompt teacher departures and push families to private or charter options.
The speakers asked the board to preserve existing year‑round schedules at Pleasant Union Elementary and North Forest Pines Elementary or, as a compromise, adopt a single‑track year‑round calendar to reduce financial and staffing disruption.
Jamie Boos, a parent, PTA member and teacher at Pleasant Union Elementary, told the board the school’s year‑round schedule is a key reason staff and families choose the school. “We do not want this change,” Boos said, adding officials could select schools with lower enrollment for conversion instead of Pleasant Union.
Katie White, a parent and PTA member at North Forest Pines Elementary, said the school’s year‑round schedule “has been a tremendous benefit” and warned that changing to a traditional calendar could drive families and teachers away. White asked whether families who wish to remain in a year‑round program would have public transfer options if their school converts.
Why it matters: Board members said the recommended conversions were proposed because of district financial considerations, but speakers and several board members emphasized the potential staff retention and childcare impacts on families who rely on year‑round schedules.
Discussion and board response
Dr. Ng, a Wake County Board of Education member representing District 3, acknowledged the difficulty the proposed calendar changes would pose and said she favors keeping some form of year‑round option. “I am ... in strong support for keeping the a some kind of format for year round calendar. And having a single track year round is a viable compromise,” Dr. Ng said, and noted the board will make a decision on the conversions on Sept. 2.
Other board members echoed those concerns and said they heard the parents’ testimony. Several suggested single‑track year‑round schedules could reduce the district’s costs while preserving most families’ and teachers’ schedules.
What was not decided
No formal vote on calendar conversions occurred at the Aug. 5 meeting. Dr. Ng said the board will reach a decision on Sept. 2. The transcript and meeting materials did not specify which schools will be selected if the district proceeds with conversions, nor did they provide an estimated dollar savings tied to specific schools. Those figures were described in earlier work‑session materials but were not presented as a formal action at this meeting.
Context and next steps
Board members said engagement with families and staff will continue; parents had taken part in online and in‑person feedback sessions. The board’s Sept. 2 decision deadline was mentioned repeatedly by members during the Aug. 5 meeting.
Ending
Until the Sept. 2 board action, Pleasant Union and North Forest Pines will remain under their current calendars. Families and staff who addressed the board asked members to consider single‑track year‑round options or other alternatives that avoid the staff losses and family disruption they said would follow a conversion.
