From: Constituents living in Lochurst Neighborhood in Pfafftown

To: The WSFCS School Board Members and Superintendent, with supportive footnotes and exhibits at this link. 

Alexandré Bohannon: abohannon2@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Robert Barr (District 2): rbarr@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Trevonia Brown-Gaither: tbrowngaither@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Sabrina Coone: scoone@wsfcs.k12.nc.us
Deanna Kaplan: dkaplan@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Susan Miller: smiller3@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Richard Watts: rwatts@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Steve Wood: swood@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Leah Crowley: lcrowley@wsfcs.k12.nc.us

Re: Petition Opposing School Rezoning of Lochurst Neighborhood

 

To the WSFCS Board of Education:

We are writing as residents of Lochurst, a diverse neighborhood in Pfafftown, to formally oppose the proposed school rezoning plan that would shift our students from Vienna Elementary and Lewisville Middle—both well-performing schools with socioeconomic diversity—to some of the lowest-performing schools in the district. We are petitioning for our neighborhood to remain zoned to Vienna Elementary School, Lewisville Middle School, and Reagan High School. In this letter, we will refer to creators and promulgators of the rezoning plan as “Rezoning Planners.”

Since its inception in 1989, our neighborhood has been zoned for Vienna Elementary, which is a five-minute drive from our neighborhood. A key factor in many residents’ decisions to invest in this community is the high performance and historical community investment we made in the schools, which are an inseparable part of our community. This proposed rezoning is deeply flawed, both in its substance and in the manner by which it has been presented to the public. We urge you to reconsider this plan for the following reasons:

1. The Proposed Rezoning Arguably Constitutes an Unconstitutional Taking

The forced rezoning of Lochurst to some of the lowest-performing schools will result in a significant decline in home values. (see link) Families intentionally choose our neighborhood based on school zoning, making this change a de facto regulatory taking—a government action that strips property owners of expected economic benefits. Courts have long recognized that when government regulations and enforcement significantly devalue private property without just compensation, they violate constitutional protections.(see link) This rezoning will cause precisely such harm.

2. The Rezoning Process Lacks Transparency and Fairness

The manner by which this proposal with false choices has been made raises serious concerns, related to the Due Process Clause and related rights:

False Claims of Input Awareness and Accessibility: The Rezoning Planners misleadingly claimed that parents were given a meaningful opportunity to participate in the rezoning process before releasing the proposed changes. However, households in our community were largely unaware of the lately disclosed specifics until after three maps were made.

Manipulative Input Mechanisms: When finally asking for feedback, the Rezoning Planners structured the response options in a way that suppresses opposition. For the critical first two days after the proposed maps made local headline news, residents were forced to choose “no preference” if they oppose all rezoning proposals; this design distorts the actual sentiment in our community and for all dissenting constituents. All three maps result in the same poor results for nearly all of our neighborhood. While a comment box exists, such an approach suppresses clear, quantifiable opposition. (see link)

Lack of Transparency in Data and Decision-Making: The Rezoning Planners have failed to effectively disclose what metrics and specific data were used to determine these zoning changes. Rather, we are presented with a summary of curated responses and told to review maps produced by an algorithm.  An actual look at the raw responses shows much more opposition than the summaries indicate—for every comment that supports the proposed changes, there are at least the same that oppose. Without transparency, residents are left to question whether the decision-making process was influenced by factors that may not align with the best interests of students and families. We wonder, too, if some factors may be constitutionally suspect.

3. The Rezoning Raises Equal Protection Concerns

The Rezoning Planners’ failure to provide clear, consistent criteria for school assignment implicates the non-classification principle under the Equal Protection Clause. When a governmental body enacts rules that arbitrarily group communities with a suppressive process, it risks violating constitutional protections. Given that better alternatives exist for creating diverse SES schools (such as the opt-in magnet model for The Downtown School), and considering the severe negative impact on families in Lochurst (as opposed to Greenbrier Farms, a community closer to these schools) this rezoning decision appears poorly reasoned, poorly planned, and discriminatory. It is clear from the maps that our neighborhood was prioritized for capture in rezoning.

4. The Consequences of This Forced Rezoning Will Be Detrimental to All

The Board, legislatures, and courts must recognize that forcing families into underperforming schools will not achieve its intended goals. Instead, it will trigger the following likely outcomes:

• Families will relocate to areas where they can retain access to higher-performing schools, weakening the stability of our neighborhood.
• Parents will enroll their children in private schools, further reducing public school funding and undermining the very system the Board seeks to protect.
• Families will sacrifice to homeschool their children, further reducing student enrollment.
• Parents and community members will pursue legal action against the Board and any entities and persons responsible for these changes.

Conclusion: This Rezoning Plan Must Be Reversed for Lochurst Neighborhood Constituents

No benefit will come from forcing the Lochurst neighborhood into drastically underperforming schools. Instead of enhancing educational opportunities, this decision will drive families out, reduce school funding, and invite legal challenges. We urge the Board to maintain our current zoning to Vienna Elementary and Lewisville Middle and to adopt a zoning process that is transparent, fair, and constitutionally sound.

We respectfully request that this matter be reconsidered in the interest of our children, our community, and the integrity of the school zoning process. Please confirm receipt of this letter and provide details on how the Board intends to address these concerns.

Respectfully,