ISSUE:  Board asks staff to study returning some of the 19 elementary schools converted to the year-round calendar back to the traditional calendar

WCPSS administrators were asked by the Board of Education in its Sept. 16 committee of the whole meeting to study the 19 elementary schools that were converted to the year-round calendar for best candidates to return to the traditional calendar.

The board request came as Don Haydon, WCPSS Chief of Operations, and Assistant Superintendent Chuck Dulaney were talking with the board about planning assumptions for the next school construction program, in particular, decisions about multi-track, year-round schools.

The multi-track, year-round school calendar increases the capacity of schools and decreases the number of schools buildings required to accommodate student enrollment. A multi-track, year-round elementary calendar provides the school system a 33 percent gain in student capacity over traditional calendar school capacity. A multi-track, year-round middle school provides a 24 percent gain.

Dulaney said in developing the capital improvement program, scenarios would be considered for maintaining status quo, with all new elementary and middle schools opening on the year-round calendar and high schools on a traditional calendar; restoring the ratio of year-round to traditional calendar elementary and middle schools that existed during the 2006-07 school year (prior to conversion of 22 schools from traditional to year-round calendars); opening all new schools on a traditional calendar; and a combination of new and year-round calendar elementary and middle schools.

Dulaney said the number of new schools needed to serve future enrollment growth will depend upon the extent to which multi-track, year-round calendars are used for elementary and middle schools. He said new construction in the next building program could be reduced, but not eliminated by converting additional existing traditional calendar schools to year-round. More new school construction would be required if current year-round schools are changed to a traditional calendar or if future elementary and middle schools are opened on traditional calendars rather than year-round calendars.

Dulaney noted that five elementary, four middle and two high schools are to open between 2009 and 2011 as part of the current construction program.

He said using projections for growth between 2008-2015 of 16,605 elementary students, 7,101 middle school students and 10,477 high school students, the school system would require 10 elementary schools, one middle school and five high schools if all traditional calendar elementary and middle schools are converted to multi-track, year-round and all new elementary and middle schools are opened as multi-track, year-round. Alternatively, it would require 30 elementary schools, 15 middle schools and five high schools, if all schools are operated on a traditional calendar.

Dulaney reviewed current capacity with the board showing that crowding has been reduced across the school system allowing school administrators to reduce the use of non instructional space for classes.

In reviewing Dulaney’s presentation, several board members discussed the possibility of undoing calendar conversions at some of the 19 elementary schools in response to the slower than projected growth of 4,000 new students this year and to provide more balanced access across the county between traditional calendar and multi-track year-round calendar schools. Board members discussed implementing the change for the 2009-10 school year.

Dulaney is scheduled to present information the board requested during its committee of the whole meeting on October 7.

WCPSS and Year-Round Schools
WCPSS has used multi-track year-round schools as a way of providing needed instructional capacity during a time of rapid growth. WCPSS opened the state’s first year-round school in 1989 and the first four-track, year-round school in the nation in 1991. Over the next 12 years, another 11 elementary and four middle multi-track, year-round schools opened.

In 2006, dramatic growth led the school board to open five elementary schools on the multi-track, year-round calendar.

With growth booming in 2006 as the school system was planning the school construction program, WCPSS offered the community three scenarios. Option one cost $1.975 billion, built 28 new schools and converted 14 schools to year-round. Option two cost $1.797 billion, built 22 schools and converted 11 schools to year round. Option three cost $1.375 billion, built nine schools and converted 93 schools to year-round. Polls conducted by the media and business community rejected the high price tag. One county commissioner called for the conversion of all schools to the year-round calendar to avoid increasing taxes.

In November 2006, voters approved a $970 million school construction bond referendum. The building program provided for construction of 17 new schools and the conversion of 19 elementary and three middle schools to multi-track year-round. All new elementary and middle schools were planned to open as multi-track, year-round schools.

With the opening of three new multi-track, year-round elementary schools this year, the school system now operates 49 schools on the multi-track, year-round calendar.

Residential Building and Enrollment Growth
Student enrollment projections are developed jointly by the Growth and Planning Office of the Wake County Public School System and the Wake County Planning Department. Projections reflect population growth trends and are tied to trends in residential building.

*Residential permits are for January to July and enrollment numbers are based on Day 10 Enrollment

The data in the table shows strong residential development increasing to a high of 11,879 in 2005 with slight drop-offs in 2006 and 2007. In 2008, the 3,893 compares with 6,601 permits issued during the same time in 2007. The change in enrollment added 3,000 to 4,500 students a year for four years, jumped higher for three years reaching 7,668 additional students in 2006 and then 5,900 in 2007. Tenth day enrollment this year shows we have about 4,000 additional students. The additional 4,000 students this year have been part of the steady increase to the current 137,592 students in 156 schools from 98,741 students in 120 schools in the 2000-01 school year.

WCPSS Director of Demographics Maja Vouk says the net annual student enrollment changes are cyclical in nature and not linear. Vouk says the fluctuation in enrollment can be affected by economy, housing and mortgage markets, migration, other schooling options, students leaving, staying or entering the system for the first time, and natural growth trends. In the current cycle, she says the changes appear to be more pronounced than they have been in the past.

News Reports and NC School Districts
News reports across the state show that other school district enrollments had experiences similar to WCPSS for 2008. The Charlotte Observer reported Charlotte Mecklenburg schools grew by a little more than 1,500 students to 134,000. CMS had expected 2,900. The Greensboro News and Record reported enrollment up by almost 300 students in Guilford County to 71,400. GCS had expected another 1,000 students. The News and Observer reported Johnston County added 1,000 students to increase to more than 31,100. Johnston grew by 2,000 students in 2007. The newspaper reported Chapel Hill-Carrboro grew by about 300, Chatham by about 100 and Orange by about 50.