As the 2025-26 Board of Education’s proposal rolls into action, plans for the construction of new schools are being finalized, which may lead to students being reassigned in upcoming years. The plans for construction and changes to base school assignments seem to be causing a stir among wake county students, as well as their guardians.

What’s happening:

In the blink of an eye, students are being forced to switch schools, shortly after the beginning of a new school year. As many transition into the next stage of their education, these abrupt changes have started to cause displeasure to the eyes of many.

• Schools being opened in 2025 include:

• • Bowling Road Elementary (Fuquay-Varina, NC)
  • Rex Road Elementary (Holly Springs, NC)
  • Pleasant Plains Elementary (Apex, NC)
  • Felton Grove High School (Apex, NC)

• Other schools planning to open in upcoming years include:

• • Morrisville High School: The new high school is expected to open in fall of 2027, or potentially in August 2026, depending on when the new location is finalized. It is planned to have a capacity of 1,450 students and will be located on about 35 acres of land.
  • Parkside Middle School: The future middle school is set to open for the 2028-2029 school year, but may be postponed due to preparation time needed for the land. It was initially planned for the 2026-27 year, but the school board has adjusted the timeline to accommodate additional construction needs.
  • Diocese of Raleigh and Cardinal Gibbons High School: The Diocese of Raleigh and Cardinal Gibbons High School (CGHS) plan to collaborate to open a new high school by the fall of 2028. Its initiative aims for the growing demand of Catholic education in the region, as CGHS is currently at full capacity with 1,600 students. The new school plans to serve around 400 students, with its first freshman class graduating in 2032.

Why does it matter?

The estimated 2025 population in Wake County stands at 1.23 million, driven by the high net migration rate across the country. With 3.3 million people moving to the United States, about 7,671 people are added per day.

• Growth rates are high in specific towns and cities, with Garner, Wake Forest and Apex showing significant increases in their inhabitants.

The history of rezoning:

Over the years, our region has implemented numerous rezoning plans to address issues like rapid population growth, overcrowding, and economic diversity.

• 2009: The “Alves Plan” was approved, which called for the move of 24,654 students to different schools over the span of a three-year period to overturn a long-standing integration policy.
• 2021: The Wake County district adopted PLANWake, a diversified plan that called for the county to be split into seven areas for more localized planning, unfolding with the Lower Swift Creek Area Plan in April 2021.
• 2021-2022: A rezoning plan for the 2022-23 school year was approved in Oct. 2021, with the goal of filling three new schools: Apex Friendship Elementary, Barton Pond Elementary and Herbert Atkins Road Middle
• 2024-2025: A plan was approved for the current school year to re-assign certain students from Olive Chapel Elementary to Baucom Elementary. It also called for moving students from crowded schools, like Salem, to under-capacity schools, similar to the renovated Baucom Elementary school.

The life of a student:

As the impact of rezoning affects many students, the GH Falcon sat down with student Ashylnn Kaczmarek (‘29), to discuss her opinions on the latest news. She argued that, “Kids may have a hard time being uprooted from their communities and […] now have the new need of trying to find new friends and mash into the new school.” As a Cary resident for over eight years, she added, “It’s very interesting because the more people move here, which is becoming a lot these past few years, Cary is having to be more developed.” She has been able to grow alongside her hometown, witnessing its evolution as a result of population growth. Kaczmarek shared how she believes that the construction of new schools is necessary, however there are numerous challenges that arise for students as a result.

The life of a parent:

Rezoning is a recurring and contentious process for this district, which often results in the move of thousands of students, fueling parental objections. Purvi Desai, a local Cary resident and parent herself shared her opinions on the matter.“It affects the student’s social circle because they’re used to their old school. All of a sudden, they’re forced to go to a new school and make new friends, which can be hard for a teenager,” she noted. Although her family has not been directly affected by rezoning yet, she said, “It might affect my child. It’s not impossible, but first of all, we’ll have to drop them to school as the buses may not come that far. Apart from studies, they’ll have to adjust to a new environment.” While students have to readjust to a new community, parents face the challenge of ensuring transportation to and from school. Personally, Desai hesitated to support rezoning as she had seen it affect in the past with Green Hope, which lost many good teachers in 2019 after the opening of Green Level High School. She added, “As a parent, it can be concerning because many good teachers are forced to move away from their current school to bring up the rating of these new schools.” The potential loss of staff to new schools, transportation and the social wellbeing of their child are all things that raise concerns amongst parents who may be impacted by rezoning.

What happens now:

As of now, none of the schools have begun to transfer their students, but many expect it to take place before the end of the 2025-26 school year. Though it may be a struggle for both students and parents, the Board of Education hopes that this new policy is able to help stabilize the population growth in Wake County, and possibly across the rest of the country in the near future, one school at a time.