Petition: Open Wake County Public School Tracks for Free Community Use

Petition Statement:

We, the undersigned residents of Wake County, petition the Wake County Board of Education to designate school tracks as "open use" facilities under North Carolina law during non-school hours — free of charge, without a rental agreement, reservation, or insurance requirement.

North Carolina law already permits this. State statute allows public schools to open their grounds to the public for recreational use, outside of formal rental agreements, and explicitly shields the district from liability for injuries occurring during that open use. Wake County Public School System currently requires community members to obtain a Community Schools ID number, pay a non-refundable $35 application fee, and carry $1M/$2M liability insurance naming the Board of Education as insured — even for something as simple as walking laps on a track outside school hours. This creates a real barrier to physical activity for families, seniors, and residents who simply want a safe, flat surface to walk or run on.

Guilford County Schools, in the same state and under the same legal framework, already keeps its tracks open to the public except during school hours, scheduled events, maintenance, and after dark — with no fee, reservation, or insurance required for individual use. We ask Wake County to adopt the same standard.

We request that the Board:

1. Formally designate WCPSS tracks as "open use" facilities under the applicable NC statute, for individual/informal recreational use only (not organized leagues or group practices, which can remain in the existing rental system).
2. Waive the CSUID, application fee, and insurance requirement for this specific use case.
3. Post clear posted hours (e.g., "open dawn to dusk except during school events and maintenance") at each track, matching the Guilford County model.