Senior leadership is aligned to support the board of education's decision-making structure. The board has budget review authority, but it is not a taxing body and must submit its annual budget requests to the Wake County Board of Commissioners which controls allocation of funds to the schools. In North Carolina the basic public education program is funded by the state and is augmented with local funds. Opportunities for public comment are provided through a public hearing at the beginning of each regular board meeting for items on the agenda and at the end of each regular board meeting for items not on the agenda. Each participant is given three minutes to address the board.
Principals are legally responsible for the operation of the schools in the district.
All school staffs are involved in the school improvement process. In some instances, the base school may be a magnet school since these schools have base populations in addition to accepting applications. For the magnet program, the same guidelines apply if the child is accepted into the program. Forty-three of the school system's 120 schools are magnet schools which offer unique educational alternatives. The magnet network was established 19 years ago to offer a choice in instructional opportunities, to fill inner-city schools, and to racially balance schools.