Enrollment Capped At Walnut Creek

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Credit Dave DeWitt

A new elementary school in Southeast Raleigh is going through some growing pains.

A high-profile elementary school in southeast Raleigh is going through some growing pains.

A few days before school began in August, Principal Corey Moore welcomed a horde of new families to Walnut Creek Elementary School.

Corey Moore: "(announcement) Attention all parents we'd like you to move into our multi-purpose room at this time. It's 5 o'clock and time for us to start our program."

The Open House was crowded enough that a second large room had to be opened to accommodate the families. The overcrowding problem has since gotten worse at Walnut Creek. Originally designed to hold 780 students, it now has 929. That's led to larger class sizes.

The Wake School Board capped enrollment this week. Walnut Creek was the first school opened after the end of the so-called diversity policy that balanced the number of low-income students. 72 percent of the students qualify for free or reduced price lunch.