Parents of elementary, middle and high school students in western Wake County had mixed reactions last week to a school reassignment plan that looks three years into the future.

For some parents, knowing where their children will be for the next three years offers security. For some, gathering the facts to counter the assignment proposal is the next step.

Shelley Babyak’s home sits in Apex on Ten-Ten Road but not too far are Fuquay-Varina, Cary and Holly Springs. Her neighborhood will be pulled with two others away from Middle Creek Elementary to Banks Road in Fuquay-Varina. Her kindergartner and first-grader will populate the new school, along with students from southeast Raleigh, she said.

“My concern is for my rising second-grader,” Babyak said. “Only six from his peer group will be going to the new school. I wonder why they don’t pull the southeast Raleigh students to Banks Road.”

Babyak plans to attend the Dec. 1 meeting at Cary High School to find out more about why the school system made the decisions it did.

Also planning on attending the Dec. 1 meeting is Marcy Bullock, who has a ninth-grader at Apex High School. Her neighborhood will be bused to Cary High next year, while, she said, Cary High students will make the switch to Apex. “I think they should let people go to their neighborhood schools. Some of the people who have been reassigned away from Apex [High] can even see the football stadium lights from their backyards,” Bullock said.

Rob Galvin, a parent of four, has many more years of Wake County schools in his future. His home in Bishops Gate sits on the border of Cary and Apex. Salem Middle School, his twins’ current school, currently feeds to Apex High, but the new plan sends them to Cary.

“The board is not listening to the communities — people in low economic areas have even more reason to be close to school to walk to activities where there is no transportation available. Low parent involvement results,” said Galvin. “And moving kids from a higher income area to a lower economic area — what’s the impact? The board hasn’t proven that this is working, and that’s part of my frustration.”

Galvin plans to educate himself on the facts instead of making an emotional plea, but he said sometimes getting all of the numbers can be difficult. His community met Sunday night to prepare for the Dec. 1 meeting, arming themselves with research and information.

Despite the economic downturn and slower real estate market, 3,700 new students entered Wake County schools in 2008-09 compared with 6,400 students in 2007-08. To answer the growth, 10 new schools are slated to open in the next three years. Populating new schools and relieving overcrowding in current schools means a reshuffling.

Some elementary schools in western Wake will change populations more than others: Adams, Carpenter, Cedar Fork, Green Hope, Holly Springs, Turner Creek and West Lake are some of the affected schools. Middle schools such as Apex, Davis Drive, East Cary, Holly Ridge, Lufkin Road and West Cary will also see shifts. High schools including Panther Creek and Cary High will see changes as well.

Wendy Alexander, who visits schools across North Carolina for her job, said she is thankful that all of the Wake County schools offer more than most others in the state. “Some schools I’ve visited throughout the state are sharing computers, classrooms, supplies … and the buildings are so old and run-down it’s pitiful.”

Her first-grader and preschooler will attend Alston Ridge Elementary when it opens in 2010. Although Alexander loves their current school, Cedar Fork, she accepts the change. “I’m ecstatic that our girls will have the opportunity to attend a brand-new school … the opportunities for them will be endless.”

Also slated to attend the new elementary school are Daphne Stam’s daughters, who are in second grade and preschool. “For me, the biggest drawback is that we’re having to switch schools at all. But I didn’t move to Wake County with my eyes closed to all these issues,” Stam said. “I am so sympathetic to the school board — their task is to work for the benefit of the hundreds of thousands of students in this school system, while keeping in mind that the education of each and every kid is the most important thing to each and every parent.”