I know I'm stepping into a hornet's nest with this one, but what is it about this one little word ("merger") that sends parents in both school systems into such a tizzy?

After nearly two hours of grappling with its options, the school board for the Orange County Schools modified its enrollment plans for the district's only year-round elementary school Monday night.

In a 4-2 vote, the board approved changes recommended by district administration that will allow 30 students already at Hillsborough Elementary School to re-enroll there next year.

Some parents who had feared their children might be among those not allowed to return had dressed in orange shirts and spoken at board meetings, posted to a blog devoted to challenging the changes, and even hired an attorney to challenge the board.

[...]

Board member Liz Brown voted against modifying the plan because she felt it didn't do enough to help Central and Efland-Cheeks elementary schools retain middle-income students.

It seems that Grubb Properties wants to tear down Glen Lennox, a neighborhood of moderately-priced rentals, and rebuild more densely with a mix of uses including presumably higher-priced housing. The neighbors are applying for a Neighborhood Conservation District, which is, um, interesting. This isn't really what NCDs were designed to do - which is to protect the character and quality of neighborhoods as they change - but no-one seems to be using them for the intended purpose anyway. (Grumble.)