Deborah Mettler is working on the two-minute speech of her life -- one that could affect where her daughter attends school this fall and whether she remains a Wake County school employee.

Starting today, the school board will hear from Mettler and hundreds of other families whose transfer requests were rejected by district administrators. In their two-minute presentations, parents will use emotion and logic to try to sway the school board.

"I'll talk if I think I can avoid breaking down. I'm usually good in a crisis," said Mettler, a crisis counselor at Athens Drive High School who will threaten to quit her job if her appeal isn't granted.

Thousands of parents request transfers annually, often to try to reverse reassignments. Today is the final day for families to file for a transfer. It is also the first day that the board will hear appeals of transfer rejections.

Administrators don't have numbers yet on the number of transfer requests or appeals this year. According to data provided by the school system, there were 758 appeals hearings in 2004 and 800 last year. The number could be higher this year because the school system has reassigned a record 9,307 students to different schools.

Some transfer requests are automatically approved, and some are automatically rejected. For instance, rising fifth- and eighth-graders are allowed to stay at their current schools instead of being reassigned.

Administrators say the school board approves about 50 percent of the transfer appeals. The approval rate was 42 percent last year and 55 percent in 2004.

Board members say overcrowding caused by record growth may limit how many appeals they can approve this year.

The appeals process, which often prompts speakers to break into tears, can be stressful.

"There are situations that tug at your heart strings," said Carol Parker, board vice chairwoman. "It's hard to say no to them."

Mettler is certainly hoping that board members will find it hard to say no to her today. Her 5-year-old daughter, Peyton, has been assigned to kindergarten at the new Holly Grove Elementary, a year-round school in Holly Springs.

Mettler said the year-round calendar, in which students get breaks throughout the year in lieu of a long summer vacation, does not mesh with her job at Athens Drive, which follows the traditional calendar. She would not be allowed to take days off to be with Peyton when Athens Drive is in session and said she would have to pay more for child care.

Such complaints are expected to increase if the district goes ahead with a plan to convert 16 to 30 elementary schools to the year-round calendar.

Mettler requested a transfer for Peyton to attend Combs Elementary School, near where she works, or any other traditional-calendar school. The district automatically rejected the request because it would have reversed a board reassignment decision.

"The worst of all this has been the anxiety about where Peyton will go to school next year and not knowing whether I'll have any time with her -- and the feeling that Wake County isn't looking out for its employees," Mettler said.

If the appeal fails, Mettler said, she will quit her job to home-school Peyton. Although she and her husband bought a home in Holly Springs in December, they say they'd leave Wake County.

Several board members said they will be sympathetic to requests from school employees.

"If she insists on her child being on a traditional calendar, I'm inclined to grant it because we need her as much as we need her child," said board member Rosa Gill.

Parents such as Greg Henry of Holly Springs don't have that advantage.

Henry is trying to figure out how to get his 7-year-old son into West Lake Elementary, a year-round school. He said it would help with family scheduling because the year-round calendar is similar to the modified-calendar that his older son will use at Centennial Middle School.

"I'm just trying to think of different approaches to take with the board," Henry said.