With a 5-1 vote, the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools Board of Education approved the conversion of Frank Porter Graham Elementary School into a magnet school at a board meeting Thursday night.
More than 100 people attended the meeting. The majority of those who spoke supported dual-language programs, but were against converting Frank Porter Graham into a magnet school.
“Not everybody is going to be happy tonight,” said board member Jamezetta Bedford. “But I think in the long-term, it’s our best option.”
School officials have said the transition of Frank Porter Graham to a magnet school will help make the Spanish dual-language program accessible to more students and reduce overcrowding in other elementary schools in the district.
The board also amended the resolution Thursday to include required updates on the plans for the magnet school in the superintendent’s report at board meetings each month.
Board member James Barrett said the magnet conversion was the most cost-effective solution.
Annetta Streater, the only board member to vote against the conversion, said she didn’t want to dismantle a school that had had success reaching its goals recently.
“What some see as the opportunity to expand a program comes at the sacrifice of a program that has already been doing well,” she said.
Between 2010 and 2011, Frank Porter Graham closed the achievement gap between its highest and lowest performing groups by about 28%.
