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RALEIGH – Thursday night, Wake County parents had their only chance to tell school board members what they think of the proposed controlled choice student assignment plan.

It would allow parents to choose where they want their children to go to school, picking from a provided list of nearby schools, with options for traditional or year-round calendar, magnet schools, and specialty programs.

The school board held its only public hearing on the assignment plan before voting on it Tuesday. Only a couple of people spoke in favor of the plan.

“No plan is perfect,” said Raleigh resident Rhonda Curtright. “But I'm confident this is the right plan for Wake County.”

However, most of the speakers voiced concerns about it.

“I have concerns about placing proximity above achievement,” said Tom Rhodes, also a Raleigh resident. “I believe it will result in potentially having many high poverty, low performing schools.”

“Many questions still exist,” said Patty Williams with the Great Schools in Wake Coalition, a group that has been critical of the new assignment plan and the existing school board majority. “Questions about feeder patterns, high performing schools, and about the costs associated with the plan.”

Despite the different concerns, many of the parents had the same message for the school board; slow down and postpone Tuesday's vote.

“We're not ready for a vote on Tuesday,” said Raleigh resident Aransasue Lascurain.

“Most parents don't understand this plan,” Raleigh resident Amy Lee told the school board. “There are some details that really need to be ironed out before it's passed. Please look at all the details, including the cost, before you pass it.”

But school leaders say in order to implement the new assignment plan next year, they absolutely must have board approval next week.

“We have logistics we have to get in place,” explained Superintendent Tony Tata. “We have communications, we have marketing, we have transportation routes to figure out, we have software to develop. We have to get all that in place so parents can begin choosing magnet [schools] in December and January and then begin the proximity choice round one in January and round two in late February.”

The majority on the school board says they're ready to approve the plan Tuesday.

The three newly elected school board members will not get to vote on it. They won't be sworn in until December.