School officials are recommending that enrollment caps be removed from fourteen schools for next school year.
They are: Alston Ridge, Brooks, Cedar Fork, Combs, Forest Pines, Green, Holly Ridge, Holly Springs, Jones Dairy, Lacy, Leesville, and North Ridge elementary schools, as well as Apex and Holly Springs high schools.
Of these fourteen, half are in one of the western planning areas.
Multiple reasons were given for why these caps are being removed. More seats are being added with three new schools opening next year. Two of these (Apex Friendship HS and Scotts Ridge ES) are in the western area of the county. Additionally, recent student enrollment changes as well as decisions to limit how many non-base students may attend already crowded schools have resulted in more capacity.
Board members praised staff for constructing an enrollment plan that controlled movement of students in and out of schools. Especially in areas of high growth, the emphasis is on taking care of students who live in the base attendance area of a school. But school board member Bill Fletcher also noted that, “what I am reading in the tea leaves is – if you’re not in the base, don’t plan on getting in.”
Six schools will remain capped. They are: Hodge Road, Holly Grove, Hunter, Mills Park, and Walnut Creek elementary schools and Mills Park Middle.
