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Economic Diversity in Public Schools

In 2003, the Wake Education Partnership Issues Committee worked on several action steps regarding issues surrounding diversity and student assignment in Wake's public schools. “It is vitally important that the community become informed about both student assignment to accommodate growth in Wake’s public schools and efforts to maintain a healthy balance of students at all schools,” said Tony Habit, Partnership president at the time of the report. “Almost every aspect of our community is affected by these decisions, including the strength of our local economy, local crime rates and the future prospects of our graduates.”

During the 2002 Wake Education Summit, participants identified concerns about student assignment as a top priority, ranking the issue third from the top. Results from the 2002 Wake Public Education Community Assessment revealed a decline in support for maintaining diverse schools in Wake County.

Action steps to address diversity and student assignment include the following:

• Produced "Making Choices," a report that summarizes the experiences of other communities that have moved to broader school choice and considers the research about the academic, economic and political issues for maintaining balanced enrollment;
• Adopted a resolution by the Board of Trustees calling on the Wake County Board of Education and the community to remain committed to balanced school enrollment;
• Developed a series of television programs where panelists discussed the economic, academic and political issues linked to school diversity and student assignment (in cooperation with Time Warner Cable, News 14 Carolina and the Wake County PTA Council); and
• Held a panel presentation and community discussion to address the consequences of "free market" approaches to student assignment and to consider the experience of other communities.