Day 4: Your Questions, Their Answers: Holly Springs (NC) Mayoral and Town Council Candidate Q&A Series
Schools, Education & Youth: How would you address school overcrowding and frequent student reassignments?
Holly Springs, NC, Sep. 27, 2025 — As Holly Springs prepares for the upcoming municipal elections, Holly Springs Update (HSU) and What’s Happening Holly Springs (WHHS) are working to give residents a clear view of where the candidates stand on key issues.
Earlier this month, all candidates were provided with a questionnaire developed from community-driven submissions and refined by Christian Hendricks, publisher of HSU, and Aaron Wenzel, moderator of WHHS. Candidate response documents were first published together in a story on September 22nd.
Earlier story: All Candidate Submissions Now Published in Holly Springs (NC) Mayoral & Town Council Questionnaire (9/22/25).
To facilitate easier comparison and contrast of answers, responses are being shared on an individual basis. Beginning September 24 and continuing through October 4, one question will be featured each day.
Today’s installment marks Day 4 of the series. For readers who missed prior days’ coverage, stories can be found by clicking on the links below:
Day 1: How will you ensure that growth does not outpace the town’s capacity for infrastructure (roads, water, sewer, safety, technology, utilities)?
Day 2: What specific steps would you take to address congestion on NC 55, Avent Ferry, Sunset Lake, and other deficient roads and connectivity and walkability of greenways and sidewalks?
Day 3: What steps would you take to improve school safety and better protect students?
Note: All candidate responses are published exactly as submitted, without editing, and are presented in alphabetical order by last name. Links are also provided below to all answers from each candidate and their respective campaign websites.
Question 4: Schools, Education & Youth
How would you address school overcrowding and frequent student reassignments?
Mayoral Candidate Answers
Mike Kondratick
As municipal officials, our first job is to build strong relationships with our colleagues on the school board who determine these issues.
At the municipal level, Holly Springs needs to continue to submit new development plans to the Wake County Public School System to help assess their future impact on schools. This should continue to be an important factor for the mayor and council members as they discuss rezoning decisions.
We can also work to understand our residents’ preferences in neighborhoods affected by potential reassignments and, to the greatest degree practical, help them advocate for their preferences with the school board.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Sean Mayefskie
School decisions — including assignments and classroom policy — are made at the county and state level. However, I’ve made it a priority to ensure town staff communicate proactively with Wake County Public Schools about new development so they can plan school growth accordingly.
My own family experienced reassignment during the early 2000s, so I understand the frustration families feel. I’ll continue to support strong planning and family communication wherever possible, even if those decisions aren’t ours to make.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Town Council Candidate Answers
Joe Cuccurullo
Unfortunately, the Town of Holly Springs does not have direct control over the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), and we do not have authority over student reassignments.
These decisions rest with the County. However, it is important for residents to understand how the process works. WCPSS is reactive to municipal growth. They monitor development approvals in towns like ours, then adjust enrollment projections, capacities, and ultimately school construction and assignment decisions based on that growth.
This means that as Holly Springs continues to grow, new schools will likely be announced, but the process tends to lag behind. It is reactive rather than proactive. That lag is what leads to overcrowding in the short term and frequent reassignments as the county works to balance enrollment across campuses.
At the town level, what we can do is ensure that schools remain a part of the conversation during the rezoning and development approval process. That means considering traffic impacts, site access, and the timing of new neighborhoods in relation to school capacity. It also means continuing to advocate strongly to the county and to WCPSS for timely investments here in Holly Springs so that new schools keep pace with demand.
Ultimately, while the Town cannot change how assignments are managed, we can make sure our voice is clear and consistent. Families in Holly Springs need predictable and accessible schools, and the county must keep pace with the growth that our community continues to experience.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Annie Drees
The Town Council doesn’t have any direct control over school reassignments. However, it is important for our Council to have strong relationships with the WCPSS school board members. In 2024, I sat down with Wake County Public School Board member to discuss the redistricting and the impact to Holly Springs. Building a working relationship with those making the decisions so we have line of sight to the plan for Holly Springs students and we can discuss together and advocate for the students in Holly Springs.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Tim Forrest
School overcrowding and frequent reassignments are some of the most difficult challenges for families in Holly Springs. While school construction and assignment decisions are ultimately made by the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS), the Town Council plays an important role in planning, advocacy, and coordination.
First, we must continue strengthening our partnership with WCPSS. That means advocating for new schools in Holly Springs, ensuring they are supported with the right roads, sidewalks, and utilities, and coordinating long-range land use planning so schools open where families live. Second, I believe in responsible growth management. The town has already updated zoning to better align development
approvals with infrastructure like schools. Growth must be tied to school capacity to prevent worsening overcrowding. Third, I support giving families more stability and predictability.
While reassignments will happen when new schools open, WCPSS should communicate changes clearly and well in advance, minimizing disruption. Fourth, I believe in supporting school choice options. Many Holly Springs families choose charter, private, or magnet schools to provide stability or special programs for their children. While those decisions are made at the county and state level, I support keeping school choice available, so parents have alternatives when reassignment or overcrowding creates challenges.
Finally, I support our continued efforts with exploring joint-use partnerships with WCPSS—shared athletic fields, greenways, and facilities that serve both schools and the community. The Town has been successful at a joint use partnership, and we must continue to look at it. This stretches resources and strengthens collaboration.
The bottom line: Holly Springs families deserve strong schools, stability in
assignments, and real choices. By managing growth responsibly, advocating for timely school construction, and supporting school choice, we can reduce overcrowding and ensure every family has a path that works for their children.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Kara Foster
School overcrowding and constant reassignments are among the most painful issues for Holly Springs families. Wake County Public Schools has grown by nearly 10,000 students in the last decade, and projections show enrollment could top 170,000 students by 2030. That pace of growth means every time a new school opens, boundary lines are redrawn and families feel like they are caught in a never-ending shuffle.
While school assignment decisions are ultimately made by the county, Holly Springs leaders can advocate for smarter, long-term planning. I believe we must push WCPSS to pair new school construction with more stable boundary projections, so families are not blindsided every few years.
Locally, the town can step up by supporting youth enrichment outside the classroom,
after-school programs, tutoring partnerships, recreation programs, and mentoring initiatives that give kids stability even when their school assignment changes. We can also work with developers to ensure new housing projects anticipate school capacity needs and do not overwhelm nearby campuses.
Parents deserve a voice in the process. I will be a strong advocate with the county to ensure Holly Springs families are heard and that growth in our town is matched by reliable, stable educational opportunities for our children.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Sarah Larson
While the Town Council does not directly control school zoning or capacity decisions, we do play a critical role in planning and advocating for our residents.
As a councilmember, I would look at ways that growth and land-use decisions made by the Town, would impact our schools. This includes reviewing proposed developments with an eye toward impacts on student populations and communicating these changes with our WCPSS partners. Strong partnerships, clear communication and proactive planning are key.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)
Josh Prizer
Many share the recent frustration of school overcrowding, capping and redistricting. Myself included.
Unfortunately, Schools do not fall under the domain of the Holly Springs Town Council, rather its the responsibility of the county. How they’re built, when they’re built, how they’re staffed and where students get repositioned, all fall under the WCPSS.
The one thing Council has the power to do is to work with Town staff and communicate with WCPSS to help identify areas of future growth so that they can try to plan better. This is already happening and communication is continuous. We can also work to help WCPSS identify land in our areas of future growth.
Links: (candidate submittals, website)