Reassigning our children from Mills Park Middle to Davis Drive is problematic for several reasons. Our neighborhood, Bellemont (which is small and just includes Vandalia Drive and Branning Court), was already reassigned schools just a few years ago, so to force the children in the neighborhood to switch yet again so soon is inappropriate. Further, the switch of allegedly only a small percentage of students indicates very few from Mills Park would be switched, meaning our children who have lived in the same home and been able to go to school with some of the same children (including through the reassignment from Alston Ridge to Hortons Creek ES when it opened) would now be sent to a remote school where they know no one. Others in the neighborhood would be similarly affected. Also, our children currently bike to and from school from time to time, which would be impossible with a reassignment to a remote Davis Drive school (this would also be disruptive to our children's sports participation as being close to the school currently enables them to return home themselves following after-school sports activities). Finally, our children are triplets in 7th grade, so ostensibly this reassignment would move them away from everyone they've known for a year, 8th grade, but back to the walking distance Panther Creek HS thereafter. That makes no sense, they should be able to finish out 1 last year at Mills Park MS and not get reassigned yet again.

I stay just in front of John and 100% agreed with him. We can't afford to get impacted by this. We would fight this back.

We are located at Vandalia Dr which is such a small division that is just 1.7 miles from MPMS. So moving just 10-12 kids from our street doesn't achieve any success for their academics and emotional well-being.

Question: My kid started his 6th Grade this year (2021-2022), so would he be going to 7th grade at Davis Drive per this proposal or this is for rising 6th graders who are currently at Elementary level?

So now I understand the "initial" draft has already been revised, for the worse. Our neighborhood is now changed to Green Hope HS, instead of Panther Creek HS which is walking distance away. And again, no one in our neighborhood will know anyone there, and have already been reassigned just a few years ago. This is too much.

I heard about this at the bus stop this morning and - honestly- couldn't believe it was true. I mean, who would move kids who can currently walk to Middle and High School to another location? It just didn't make sense. I was sure I misheard. I mean when we moved here in 2012 (to attend Mills Park Middle and Panther Creek HS) we were sure that even if new schools were added, being RIGHT NEXT TO THESE we wouldn't be affected. Guess we were wrong.

This is absolutely the wrong decision. There are, at max 15 kids on this street that are subject to this relocation. Why move them? For 15 seats you are going to break up a network of families and friends that have built a neighborhood that works. For 15 seats you are going to now EXPAND THE CORONAVIRUS BUBBLE and mix neighborhoods.

There are many more points to this argument. Please reserve me a public comment spot at the next school board meeting so I can express them in person.

Unfortunately this is a yearly occurrence, they will generally target smaller, more established neighborhoods for these types of reassignments. They generally make very little impact, except for absolutely destroying the neighborhoods that are selected. Our small neighborhood now has all kids on different schedules, tracks, etc, which very negatively impacts the ability for socialization among the neighborhood kids, carpooling, etc. Please visit www.wakereassignment.com if you would like to read about what happened to our neighborhood. You can also look at the Cameron Pond neighborhood which was similarly affected a few years ago.

It's worth noting that there is a large apartment complex (Cortland Highcroft, previously Brook Arbor) which has many children assigned to Mills Park. There are so many kids here that they actually run multiple buses just to this complex. When we were reassigned we suggested they look at this complex since our neighborhood attended Highcroft/Mills Park since they were built, and because apartments are generally full of short-term tenants. This complex is much more proximate to DDMS and GHHS, but for whatever reason the board does not like to reassign apartment complexes.

Hope this info is helpful and good luck to all of you.

So I am following up here and learning the devastating high school assignment for us which is just 1 mile (5 mins bike), and you are taking that from us as well. Why????????

The whole reason we established in this area back in 2016-2019 is to get MPMS and Panther Creek HS, and now we are getting send to 4-5 miles away from our base?

Can someone please explain if this is justice for just 15 ish kids who just started their school year, making friends at local schools?

Considering that based on the zoning map, the fact that the Belmont’s Estates neighborhood being the only one affected in our area and the disruption affecting a small of children, it is inconsistent with the goals supposedly being attained by WCPSS. This is a bad proposal. It needs to go back to the table and reconsidered objectively. Let’s ask our decision makers to not get so lost in a “big picture” that they forget their basic lean fundamentals and common sense logic.

My kids are currently in elementary but will start going to middle school in 1.5 years. Although I'm sure Davis Dr is a good school and understand the overcrowding, kids should be going to the schools nearest them (both for parent logistics in transportation, and supporting the kids to develop friendships with the people around us). Our neighborhood in Vandalia Dr was picked out of the Mills Park zone and moved away to the further school district which is not logical. Reassignments would make sense for kids living closer to the border between school zones, not from an isolated neighborhood directly adjacent to their current school. Our kids would have been able to bike ride to school because we are so close to Mills Park, and now it'll be a longer bus/carpool drive. We are so unhappy about this change and the complications it'll cause emotionally and logistically.

When is the live online meeting happening on this topic?

It's a good thing our kids go to the school close to the neighborhood. Being close has made it a lot easier for parents to scramble this morning (10/29) to get kids to school on time. Imagine if this bus driver strike would have happened next year with the new school assignments in place?

Let us add unstable bussing to the list of why reassignment is a bad idea.

We just moved to the MPES and MPMS district. Our kids were capped out of both schools (which we were aware of) and attend other schools. Next year, I will have a 6th and 8th grader in the MPMS district. First question: if this proposal is implemented, will it provide additional space at MPMS for kids who are currently sent elsewhere? Or will it just ease overcrowding of the existing school population at MPMS? And second question: will a determination on "capped schools" be made at the same time as this proposal is decided -- early December? I would consider a magnet program application for my rising 6th grader but would like to know first (before application deadline on Jan. 27) if there will not be space for him at MPMS next year,

I asked a couple of questions during the meeting today but none of them were considered :(.

This recent bussing shortage should be strongly taken into account, in ensuring kids who are walking distance to schools remain in those schools. Otherwise families such as ours would have had a huge problem, with one parent gone on business travel and the other working mandatory overtime, and not been able to drop off or pick up our kids. Fortunately our kids were able to walk!

Corallie Tornow, I asked a couple of questions during the meeting today but none of them were considered :(.

Corallie Tornow, I heard you say if there are questions and I had questions posted but not sure why none of that was picked up. I just wasted my time on this meeting :(. Big disappointment.

Corallie Tornow, can we please have answers to our questions. I am deeply disappointed you did not address our many questions last evening. :(

And as our neighbor John pointed out, we are already impacted with driver situations and if you put us 5-6 miles away from our homes, it will be tough to drop & pick kids every day.

Reassigning students from Mills Park middle school to Davis Drive is a problem for several reasons. There is a small amount of students that this would impact and changing their school will not greatly impact the number of students at Mills Park. Students also deserve the opportunity to continue to go to school near their home and community to help them grow in independence and for their development. My son could ride his bike to school if necessary, that is how close we live to the school. The distance to Davis Drive is a concern to me as it will impact my son's interaction with our current community and area. Students should be able to create a connection with kids in their class and know that they can easily see them nearby after school or on the weekends. Taking students out of Mills Park middle school can also effect their mental health by making them start over again with a new building and new students. I am happy for my son to make friends from many places however I am a concerned parent wanting the best for my son and I believe that him continuing his education nearby at Mills Park middle school is an extremely important part of his growth during his youth. Please, greatly, consider having students in Camden Townhomes community continue to attend Mills Park middle school.

My family lives in the Camden Townhomes at Cary Park. We bought our townhome because of the close proximity to the schools and the schools' ratings. We live just 0.2 miles away from Panther Creek High School, which many can tell is walking distance. Mills Park Middle and Hortons creek is also close, with a driving distance of 1.6 miles. All three of our base schools (that we live close to) are at risk to change. The proposal would mean our kids would go to Green Level Elementary, Davis Drive Middle, and Green Level High school to help with overcrowding, but why wouldn't an area be selected closer to those schools. The commute from our neighborhood is much longer to these schools and is creating more burden for families. When I looked at the current zone for Mills Park Middle, I noticed that many communities are closer to the proposed schools, and some even had an Apex address. In the 2022-2023 proposal, they will still attend Mills Park Middle. Please consider other neighborhoods closer to Green Hope Elementary, Davis Drive Middle, and Green Hope High school. My kids and the kids in other selected communities should not be bused farther when other neighborhoods would be closer. My children use the time after they get home to do homework. What little free time they have after they finish their assignments is to play outside and unwind. They do not need to endure any more stress; the last two years have been hard enough. Being a developed neighborhood should not be a reason we are at risk for rezoning. We have stayed in Cary Park for ten years because we love the friends we have made, the close-knit community, and the schools. Our friends are located throughout this area, not just the neighborhood. Please consider allowing our small communities to stay in the schools close by and our kids with their friends.