Keep Copperleaf Together: Request for Reconsideration of the Proposed School Reassignments

To: Wake County Public School System School Board

We are asking the WCPSS School Board to reconsider the proposed school reassignments that would divide the established and unified Copperleaf community between two elementary schools and two high schools. Copperleaf is one cohesive, established neighborhood. Splitting it between two schools would create unnecessary operational complexity while separating families who live within the same community and HOA, fragmenting the strong bond our community has worked hard to build over the years. 

Copperleaf is a foundational neighborhood assigned to White Oak Elementary (WOE) since the school opened in 2016 and before the CAP was imposed. Copperleaf families have been instrumental in building the WOE community to the strong, vibrant, and successful school that it is today.

WHY THIS MATTERS

1. Operational Efficiency

Dividing Copperleaf will require a new/separate school bus route to serve students within the same neighborhood who attend different schools. This adds transportation complexity and potential confusion for families without a clear efficiency or cost benefit. Not only does it NOT eliminate a bus route for WOE, because the students on the main side of the neighborhood would still require bus service, but it ADDS the additional route to the Copperleaf Glen side and Montvale neighborhood that would bus those students to Mills Park Elementary. Furthermore, some reassigned students will choose to stay at WOE and will not be provided with bus transport. Consequently, there will be both additional bus and car traffic along Morrisville Parkway at an already confusing intersection that has entrances to Copperleaf on both sides of the road. The existing school assignments require just one bus route that picks up all students in Copperleaf.

WOE has already experienced an increase in carpool traffic due to recent school reassignments. Some reassigned families will undoubtedly choose to stay at WOE and be forced to carpool. This will cause increased congestion heading south on White Oak Church Road towards the school. There is already considerable congestion coming north on White Oak Church Road from the neighborhoods south of Green Level West Road. It's going to create a complete bottleneck coming into and out of the school from both sides. This would not serve bus route operational efficiency. Perhaps it would make more sense to send the buses and carpool traffic from neighborhoods south of WOE east to Turner Creek and away from current congestion in the area.

2. Impact of New and Still-Developing High-Density Neighborhoods on WOE

Copperleaf is completely built out with no plans to expand. Meanwhile, substantial new growth and high-density development is occurring in surrounding areas, including new communities south of Green Level West Road and south down Wimberly Road. From a long-term planning perspective, we ask WCPSS to consider directing new residential growth toward schools with available capacity, while preserving the existing assignment of established, fully built-out neighborhoods like Copperleaf. This will help reduce the need for repeated boundary changes in the future and better support future WOES and GLHS capacity. E.g. Turner Creek, which is not capped, should be considered for the new growth and development south of WOE. Keeping established, static neighborhoods like Copperleaf and Montvale as assigned schools for WOE will ultimately help the student population at WOE stabilize as opposed to trying to accommodate for the rapidly growing and expanding neighborhoods south of Green Level West Road.

3. Geographic Proximity and Neighborhood Continuity

Copperleaf is an established community located near WOE. Other nearby communities, including Youngs Farm, have similar geographic proximity to WOE. If comparable communities can be considered together based on proximity, we ask why an established neighborhood like Copperleaf needs to be divided? Keeping Copperleaf together would preserve neighborhood continuity and ensure that children growing up in the same community have the opportunity to attend the same elementary and high schools.

We respectfully ask the Wake County Board of Education to reconsider the proposed division of Copperleaf to separate schools.

We believe school boundaries should consider not only current enrollment, but also operational efficiency, transportation, geographic proximity, neighborhood continuity, and long-term growth patterns. Evidence supports the importance of community stability for student success. Studies show that consistency in schooling environments leads to improved academic outcomes, higher levels of engagement, and better overall student well-being. Disrupting these patterns can have a long-term negative impact on educational achievement and psychological health. Moreover, the logistical challenges of split pathways will impose additional burdens on families who carefully chose Copperleaf for its unified schooling route. We believe there is a more logical, efficient, and sustainable approach.

What Can Community Members Do?

Sign this petition to support keeping Copperleaf together. Please share with friends, neighbors, family members, and other affected constituents. Join us in asking the Board to take another look at the proposed boundary and consider a solution that keeps Copperleaf together while supporting sustainable school planning for the broader community.