Wake County Schools Plan for Growth: What to Know About School Assignment Changes for 2026-27
District acknowledges families want to better understand how their feedback is being used to shape assignment decisions
Holly Springs, NC, Mar. 4, 2025 — With the 2025-26 student enrollment plan finalized, the Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) is beginning the 2026-27 school year process. As one of the fastest-growing school districts in the nation, WCPSS must continuously balance school capacity, stability, proximity, and operational efficiency while ensuring that community input is a key part of the decision-making process.
During a recent school board work session, district officials emphasized that this year's planning will focus on improving the student assignment process through public engagement, clearer communication, and early involvement from families.
“We’re here to talk to you about just the public engagement plan, not the plan itself. We want to highlight how the feedback from past enrollment plans has informed this year’s enrollment approach.”
The district acknowledged that families want to understand better how their feedback is being used to shape assignment decisions.
“We think that this is something we need to do a better job of sharing with the community—how their impact does impact the planning process.”
New Schools, Growth, and the Impact on Enrollment
Wake County’s rapid population growth continues to shape student assignment planning. The district uses updated projections to determine where new schools are needed and how existing schools may need to adjust enrollment.
The most significant change for 2026-27 will be the opening of Hilltop Needmore Elementary School, which will help relieve overcrowding in the Fuquay-Varina and Holly Springs areas.
“We’ll be going to the Hilltop Needmore area to engage those families one more time.”
The district is also considering the role of major renovation projects in shaping student assignments.
“The one thing that we realized after last year’s public comment and feedback is that we don’t do enough to help families understand how renovation projects, major renovation projects, also impact our assignment recommendations.”
A primary goal of this year’s planning process is to provide clearer updates earlier to ensure families have time to prepare for potential school assignment changes.
“Now that we have projected enrollment out, we’ll get this type of graphic update. We’re actually working with our geospatial team to see if there’s a better way to display this information.”
Public Engagement: A Stronger Emphasis on Community Input
District leaders say that families and community members will have multiple ways to provide feedback on the student assignment plan, including digital tools, open houses, and targeted engagement sessions in high-growth areas.
“In previous years, we have very much and very clearly heard that our families and community members want a clearer understanding of how their feedback is influencing the planning process.”
To meet this need, WCPSS is expanding its communication efforts, updating the district’s website, and working closely with local municipalities to ensure that accurate information is available.
“They also appreciate having multiple ways to be able to share thoughts and ideas and feedback and concerns, and so we want to continue to tap into that.”
The district is also revising the public hearing process for more meaningful engagement before making final decisions.
“We heard a lot of feedback this past cycle and in previous cycles that it feels as if the public hearing is too close to the release of the final draft for your review and consideration, and it doesn’t feel like there’s a sufficient amount of time to respond to what you’re hearing.”
This year, the public hearing will take place on October 21 to ensure the board has enough time to review and incorporate public input before finalizing the assignment plan in November.
“We thought that this might be an improvement for you as board and for us as staff to make sure that there really is a sufficient amount of time to respond to any of those thoughts, ideas, questions, or concerns.”
Key Issues for Holly Springs Families
School overcrowding remains a concern in Holly Springs and other high-growth areas. District officials review student projections and identify potential adjustments to feeder patterns and school assignments.
“There’s some concerns in the northern Raleigh area. Now that all those schools are kind of built, the Sycamore, Barton Pond, with the Pine Hollow coming online, and all of that, that there’s some concerns about feeder pattern alignment and cohort continuity.”
As new schools open in other parts of the county, WCPSS is also looking at long-term solutions for underutilized and overutilized schools.
“You made some decisions about capping. Now there’s still some schools that have some issues that can’t be solved necessarily with a reassignment, or can’t necessarily be solved just through capping, so maybe there are some calendar change discussions that might need to happen.”
The district encourages families to stay engaged throughout the process, as early involvement will significantly impact assignment decisions.
“This is the most impactful time for families to engage in the public engagement process because we can really use the thoughts, ideas, lived experiences that they share with us in a very meaningful way as we’re developing the plan.”
How Families Can Get Involved
To ensure their voices are heard, families are encouraged to:
Attend regional community meetings focused on student assignment changes.
Visit the WCPSS enrollment website for regular updates.
Participate in public feedback sessions and surveys.
Contact their local school board representatives with questions or concerns.
“We’re going to push out notifications to expand our outreach, but please, please, please participate as early as you can.”
Contact Information for Holly Springs School Board Representatives
Families in Holly Springs who have questions about the school assignment process can reach out to their local representatives:
Wake County Board of Education - District 8 (Holly Springs, Fuquay-Varina, Apex, Garner)
📍 Board Member: Lindsay Mahaffey
📧 Email: lmahaffey@wcpss.net
📞 Phone: (919) 694-8998
Wake County Board of Education - At-Large Members
📍 Board Member: Cheryl Caulfield
📧 Email: ccaulfield@wcpss.net
📞 Phone: (919) 694-8998
📍 Board Member: Tyler Swanson
📧 Email: tswanson@wcpss.net
📞 Phone: (919) 694-8998
For school assignments and enrollment planning updates, visit the WCPSS website or follow district announcements.