Blueprint for Excellence 2006 One-Stop Info Center

Blueprint for Excellence 2006: Frequently Asked Questions

FUNDING

Questions regarding financing of the plan.

OTHER MEASURES

Questions regarding the lottery, charter schools, class size, innovative measures, and long-range planning.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Questions regarding construction costs and timeframe, multi-story schools, and site selection.

YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS

Questions regarding the calendar, vacations and holidays, and tracks.

FUNDING

Q: What is Blueprint for Excellence 2006?

A: Blueprint for Excellence 2006 is the new school building program for Wake County that includes 17 new schools scheduled to open between 2008 and 2011, land and design start-up costs for another 13 schools, major renovations to 13 existing schools, and life-cycle replacements (air conditioning systems, roofs, etc.) at dozens of schools. It includes the conversion of enough elementary schools to the multi-track year-round calendar to gain an additional 3,000 seats. It includes the addition of mobile/modular classrooms or the conversion of enough middle schools to the multi-track year-round calendar to gain an additional 2,000 seats.

Q: Why is the bond important?

A: The new building program, mainly financed through the November 2006 bond, will provide classrooms for thousands of additional children moving into Wake County by 2010. The Wake County Public School System is expected to gain 7,000 new students in 2006-07. This is more than every man, woman and child in the Town of Knightdale. Estimates show WCPSS gaining 40,000 students by the year 2010, bringing total enrollment to more than 160,000. In addition, WCPSS's older schools need renovation to ensure they are quality places for children to learn.

Q: How will the Blueprint be financed?

A: The sale of bonds would provide funds to build and renovate schools. With voter approval on November 7, 2006, Wake County would sell up to $970 million in bonds to finance the $1.056 billion Blueprint for Excellence. Bonds are like a home mortgage; they allow capital investments to be made as they are needed with repayment at a low interest rate over a period of years. This keeps financing low. The county would also provide $86 million in "pay-as-you-go" funding to complete the total plan.

Q: What is the tax implication of the bond?

A: The impact of the bond debt service is 2.7 cents per $100 of assessed property value. The county also calculated a gradual 2.0-cent increase to pay for operating the new buildings. In 2008, the operating impact would be 0.9 cents, with the total impact by 2011 being 2.0 cents.

So, in 2008, the owner of a $150,000 home would pay $54 more a year in property taxes, or a little less than 15 cents a day.

Wake County is examining the tax implications of the bond not passing.

Q: Why use bonds?

A: General obligation bonds allow the county to borrow money and repay it – with interest – over a long period of time, typically 15-20 years. This is similar to someone taking out a mortgage to buy a house. Most people do not have enough money to pay cash for a house or a car, so they borrow money and repay it with interest while using the house or car. Because the facilities will be used over a number of years, this is a fair and equitable way of sharing the cost with current and future residents as Wake continues to grow. Wake County is one of only three counties in North Carolina, and one of 22 in the nation, that have a AAA bond rating, the highest possible rating which translates into the lowest available interest rates for capital borrowing.

22 Counties in the US with a AAA Bond Rating

No.

County

State

1

New Castle

DE

2

Palm Beach

FL

3

Cobb

GA

4

Gwinnett

GA

5

DuPage

IL

6

Baltimore

MD

7

Howard

MD

8

Montgomery

MD

9

Hennepin

MN

10

St. Louis

MO

11

Forsyth

NC

12

Mecklenburg

NC

13

Wake

NC

14

Monmouth

NJ

15

Greenville

SC

16

Salt Lake

UT

17

Arlington

VA

18

Chesterfield

VA

19

Fairfax

VA

20

Henrico

VA

21

London

VA

22

King

WA

 

Q: Why doesn’t growth pay for itself?

A: Wake County Manager David Cooke explained that if the county had a higher percentage of commercial growth than residential, growth would pay for itself (based on property taxes). But, that's not the case in Wake County. Wake’s residential growth is a higher percentage than commercial growth. Adding residents does increase the tax base, but these residents also require additional services (such as schools), which cost money.

Also, Wake County’s revaluation every eight years has been “revenue neutral,” meaning the county counteracted increases in the tax base and property values by lowering the tax rate so that taxpayers do not see an increase as a result of revaluation. In other words, property taxes would generate the same amount of revenue after the valuation as before.

Q: What happens if the bond doesn’t pass?

A: The needs won't go away. If the referendum doesn't pass, the Board of Commissioners and Board of Education will consider solutions such as converting most elementary and middle schools to a multi-track, year-round calendar and using split shifts at high schools; and issuing certificates of participation to provide funding for high priority projects. Certificates of participation are similar to general obligation bonds, but have higher interest rates.

Wake County is examining the tax implications of the bond not passing.

Q: How does Wake's 2006-07 property tax rate compare with other counties' rates?

A: At $0.6340, Wake County has the lowest tax rate of the largest school districts in the state; Cumberland, Forsyth, Guilford and Mecklenburg all have higher property tax rates. Wake also has the second lowest tax rate of surrounding counties; Durham, Franklin, Granville, Harnett, Johnston and Vance counties' tax rates range from $0.066 more to $0.286 more than Wake County's rate. WCPSS outperforms all of the other major school systems on virtually every indicator in North Carolina at a local cost per student below most other urban and neighboring districts.

Compared to the largest school districts in the state, Wake County has the lowest tax rate.

Tax Rates

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Cumberland

$ 0.9000

$ 0.9250

$ 0.9250

$ 0.8800

$ 0.8800

$0.8800

$ 0.8800

Mecklenburg

$ 0.7300

$ 0.8397

$ 0.8397

$ 0.7364

$ 0.7567

$ 0.8368

$ 0.8189

Forsyth

$ 0.6745

$ 0.6400

$ 0.6920

$ 0.6920

$ 0.7080

$ 0.6660*

$ 0.6660

Guilford

$ 0.6372

$ 0.6742

$ 0.6742

$ 0.7135

$ 0.6184

$ 0.6428

$ 0.6615

Wake

$ 0.5640

$ 0.5640

$ 0.5640

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6340

*Forsyth County went through revaluation in 2005-06.

Wake County also has the second-lowest tax rate of surrounding counties.

Tax Rates

2000-01

2001-02

2002-03

2003-04

2004-05

2005-06

2006-07

Vance

$ 0.8400

$ 0.8400

$ 0.8800

$ 0.9000

$ 0.9000

$ 0.9200

$ 0.9200

Durham

$ 0.9297

$ 0.7290

$ 0.7530

$ 0.7630

$ 0.7900

$ 0.8090

$ 0.8090

Franklin

$ 0.8800

$ 0.9450

$ 0.9995

$ 0.9995

$ 0.7900

$ 0.7900

$ 0.7900

Johnston

$ 0.8500

$ 0.8500

$ 0.8500

$ 0.7800

$ 0.7800

$ 0.7800

$ 0.7800

Harnett

$ 0.7300

$ 0.7600

$ 0.7600

$ 0.7350

$ 0.7350

$ 0.7350

$ 0.7350

Granville

$ 0.7350

$ 0.7750

$ 0.6350

$ 0.6350

$ 0.6350

$ 0.7000

$ 0.7000

Wake

$ 0.5640

$ 0.5640

$ 0.5640

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6040

$ 0.6340

Chatham

$ 0.8500

$ 0.6464

$ 0.6464

$ 0.6464

$ 0.6464

$ 0.5970*

$ 0.5970

*Chatham County went through revaluation in 2005-06.

Source: North Carolina Association of County Commissioners; http://www.ncacc.org/

Q: What if my school isn't listed in the Blueprint for Excellence?

A: All schools will be affected by the plan, even if they aren't listed in it. Some schools will provide additional capacity in the transition to the multi-track year-round calendar. Others may see capacity change with the addition of mobile or modular classrooms. The Blueprint will ease the overflow of students from other schools by building new schools and renovating others. Look at what your feeder schools are receiving and what your school received from previous school bonds.

OTHER MEASURES

Q: Why do we need a bond since the lottery was approved?

A: Estimates show Wake County gaining $9 million in lottery revenue per year – enough to build less than half of an elementary school. The funding formula is based on average daily membership and the county tax rate: the lower the tax rate, the less money the county stands to receive.

Although the lottery proceeds will not cover Wake’s school construction needs, every little bit helps. The county plans to use lottery proceeds in 2007 and 2008 as part of the pay-as-you go financing for school projects.

Q: Would opening additional charter schools help?

A: If the legislature lifts the cap on charter schools, it would barely make a dent considering 7,000 new students enroll in the Wake County Public School System a year. Currently, charter schools accommodate less than 3 percent of Wake County students. WCPSS's first priority must be ensuring the strength of the school system that serves the vast majority of students in Wake County.

In 2004-05 only two of the 14 charter schools in Wake County served more than 600 students, and 20 percent of the students in those two schools came from outside of Wake County. The median size of a Wake County charter school in 2004-05 was 197 and the average size was 324. Finally, as noted in the report of entries and exits from the Wake County Public School System during the past year, while WCPSS sent 442 students out to charter schools last year, 495 entered WCPSS from charter schools.

Q: Why doesn't Wake increase class size?

A: Class size is set by North Carolina law. Permission to raise class sizes would need to come from the legislature.

In 2004-05, the state reduced the average size of third-grade classes to 21 students, matching the previously mandated average class size for kindergarten through second grade. The maximum class size in kindergarten through third grade is 24 students and the districtwide average must be 21 or lower. The maximum class size for fourth- through ninth-grades is 29 students and the districtwide average must be 26 or lower.

Read the DPI memo explaining class size requirements for 2004-05

State law provides a process for requesting an exception for individual classes within a school. No process exists, however, for requesting an exception for an entire school or for the district.

Q: Is Wake using innovative measures for providing classroom seats?

A: Yes, in addition to building new schools and adding mobile/modular classroom units, WCPSS has been taking advantage of adaptive re-use, ninth-grade centers, and "early start" campuses. WCPSS is also evaluating the possible time-savings that could come from public-private partnerships, recently approved by the N.C. General Assembly.

Q: Does Wake have long-range plans?

A: Yes, Wake is planning for the future. In fall 2004, WCPSS contracted with N.C. State University's Operations Research and Education Laboratory to create an analytical, data-driven process that incorporates land use and future developments into determining the best locations for new schools. This will be a continuous long-range school and community planning process involving WCPSS, Wake County government, the 12 municipalities, and the Capital Area Municipal Planning Organization, with the Lab coordinating updates. The new method improves upon the current system by incorporating municipal planning data and projections into school and infrastructure planning, adding GIS technology and operations research methodologies, and projecting school sites beyond a three- or four-year bond cycle.

In spring 2006, the Lab provided enrollment projections, broken down into approximately 39 geographic planning regions across the county, through 2010; these projections reflect the municipalities’ data on land use plans and future developments. The Lab is also working with WCPSS to construct an optimization model to generate target areas for school site land banking. The Lab will provide target areas, or circles, for new school locations, as well as student population growth by geographic planning regions, through 2025.

Q: Where can I find more information regarding the long-range plans?

A: You may find additional resources in the long-range planning section of the Demographics Resource Center and at our Growth Resource Center.

DESIGN AND CONSTRUCTION

Q: How do Wake's construction costs compare to other school districts in North Carolina?

A: For every year from 2001 through 2005, WCPSS bid day building costs for new schools have been below the average Department of Public Instruction cost per square foot. If other counties' school construction costs seem lower, often times it's because it isn't an apples to apples comparison. Before comparing counties' school construction costs, find out what's included in the amount.

Figures are based on data from DPI’s website dated 3/17/06 of new schools bid across the state as reported by bid year.

 

 

When you add site costs to the mix, in the years 2001-2003, WCPSS costs still remain below the average cost. For 2004-05, WCPSS costs exceed the average due to rising site work costs.

 

 

Why are Wake’s sitework costs higher than average?

Q: How much does it cost to build a school?

A: This is a volatile time in the construction business. With the reconstruction effort in the Gulf Coast, there's an increased demand for labor and supplies. In an attempt to keep costs down, the Board of Education has agreed to increase the capacity of schools and decrease classroom size. It will now take $21.7 million to build a 1,124-student capacity year-round elementary school set to open in July 2008, $41 million for a 1,663-student capacity year-round middle school set to open in July 2009, and $69.4 million for a 2,223-student capacity high school that will open in July 2009. (Costs do not include land.)

Q: How long does it take to build a school?

A: On average, it takes 14 months to build an elementary school, 19 months for a middle school and 26 months for a high school. However, construction is only one part of the process. WCPSS must go through the following steps to open a new school: offer to purchase site, site access and survey, land acquisition, design, site plan and agency approvals, building permit approval, bid and award period, construction, and move-in. The permitting process alone can take nine months.

After including all the above steps, the average time it takes to open a school - from offer to purchase the site to construction completion is 34 months for an elementary school, 41 months for a middle school, and 50 months for a high school. Despite the lengthy durations, it would be even longer if WCPSS was not using prototype (reused) school designs, which can save up to six months of the design process.

Q: What does WCPSS consider when looking for new school sites?

A: WCPSS considers the school system’s needs, location, size of property, public utilities availability, road access, land cost, zoning, traffic and transportation issues, proximity to other schools, length of time for acquisition, opportunities for joint-use (library, park, etc.) with Wake County or municipalities, topography (wetlands, unusual features that would make the land costly to develop), and cost. Typically, WCPSS needs 19 acres for an elementary, including nine acres for compliance with environmental regulations and local ordinances; 31 acres for a middle school, 14 of which are for regulations; and 65 acres for a high school, including 28 acres for regulations.

Due to the scarcity of suitable land, the cost per acre has skyrocketed. While WCPSS paid $15,000 per acre for Knightdale High in 2000, the average cost paid in 2006 has been $87,000 per acre.

Q: Does WCPSS build multi-story schools?

A: WCPSS has approximately 60 multi-story schools, with over 20 of those at the elementary school level. Building multi-story schools require less land, but they tend to cost more than single-story schools. Multi-story schools require more square footage to be built to provide multiple stair towers, an elevator, and face more stringent building code requirements. Although a multi-story school requires less land, that savings is offset by the costs of the additional square footage.

For example, state building code requires that all pre-kindergarten, kindergarten and first-grade students be housed on the ground floor and have direct exits to the outdoors from all spaces they use, including classrooms, media centers, multi-purpose rooms and cafeterias. Second-graders may not be housed more than one story above the ground floor.

Q: What is the status of mobile/modular classrooms?

A: In 2005-06, approximately 17 percent of WCPSS students were learning in more than 1,000 mobile/modular classrooms across the county. WCPSS is adding more than 100 classroom units for 2006-07.

Q: Why do we not reduce reliance on mobile classrooms as called for in planning assumptions adopted in September 2005?

A: The goals established by the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners in September called for reducing the percentage of students housed in mobile or modular classrooms to 8 percent by 2012. In 2005, about 24 percent of elementary students, 15 percent of middle school students, and 14 percent of high school students were in classes in mobile or modular classrooms. More than 100 additional mobile or modular classrooms are being installed for the 2006-07 school year. Significant progress toward the goal would require at least three additional new elementary schools, two additional middle schools, and an additional new high school and add more than $250 million to the funding request. The current proposal reduces the percentage in elementary school to approximately 19 percent, increases the percentage in middle school to 18 percent and slightly increases the percentage in high schools to about 15 percent.

Q: Why do we not propose to lower utilization rates as called for in planning assumptions adopted in September 2005?

A: The goals established by the Board of Education and Board of Commissioners in September called for a reduction in current utilization rates by 2015 to 95% in elementary and middle schools (currently 105% and 99%) and 97.5% in high schools (currently 100%). Such a reduction would reduce the stresses caused by annual variations in student enrollment patterns and reduce the amount of student reassignment and mobile unit relocation required each year. However, making significant progress toward these goals would require the additional schools identified in the previous question. In the 2010-11 school year, under the adopted CIP, the elementary utilization rate would be unchanged, middle school utilization would drop to 96% and high school utilization would drop to approximately 98%.

YEAR-ROUND SCHOOLS

Q: Will the Blueprint for Excellence include additional new year-round schools?

A: Yes, new elementary and middle schools will open on the multi-track year-round calendar.

Q: Why convert traditional single-track elementary schools to multi-track year-round calendars?

A: Conversion of some elementary schools to multi-track calendars will be done to generate an immediate capacity gain of approximately 3,000 seats for the 2007-08 school year. The 18 new elementary schools opening by 2010 will all open as multi-track year-round schools. Over the next 25 years, the utilization of the multi-track elementary calendar will reduce the number of new elementary schools needed from 101 to 72, saving over one billion dollars in school construction costs. Delivery of instruction in elementary schools will not be negatively impacted by conversion to a multi-track calendar.

Q: Why not convert all elementary schools to multi-track year-round calendars?

A: Some existing elementary schools have an insufficient number of classrooms to organize a multi-track calendar. Some schools have instructional programs (such as the Primary Years I.B. program) that would be severely limited by a multi-track program. Magnet schools have been established in order to fully utilize existing building capacity and to maintain diversity within schools in certain areas. They may be in older neighborhoods that lack sufficient children to fully utilize the school facility or they may be in socio-economically isolated neighborhoods comprised largely of low-income families, so they offer a program designed to draw voluntary enrollment from other areas of the county. Maintaining some elementary magnets on a single-track calendar that matches the single-track middle school and high school calendar will provide an additional reason for parents to consider enrollment in magnet schools over the convenience of enrolling in their geographically closer assigned school. This continues the program of choice originally established with the magnet program. The Board of Education will consider the potential negative impact of a multi-track calendar on existing magnet schools and will consider whether additional traditional calendar “magnet” need to be established in order to maintain opportunities for families to request a traditional calendar elementary program.

Q: Why not convert all middle schools to multi-track year-round calendars?

A: Middle schools are usually organized into four-teacher instructional teams with each teacher having a different area of certification—language arts, social studies, mathematics and science. The four core teachers teach four “homeroom” classes within each team. Organizing teams for each grade level within four tracks for each grade level is challenging. The optimum arrangement is one team per track per grade level, which serves approximately 1,248 students. Any enrollment pattern less than the optimum will need some two-teacher teams, requiring teachers to have more than one area of certification and to teach multiple subjects. Optional multi-track middle schools can enroll the appropriate number of students through the application process and maintain the teaming structure. Conversion of existing middle schools from a single-track calendar to a multi-track calendar will result in differing numbers of students at each grade level and require the organization of more two-teacher instructional teams with smaller schools facing more disruption to the team organization than larger schools. Conversion of all middle schools would require many more teachers with dual-certification (e.g. math and science or language arts and social studies) or force more teachers to teach out-of-field, make it harder to attract and retain highly qualified teachers for middle schools, and negatively impact instructional planning and delivery. The adopted CIP calls for opening new middle schools as multi-track year-round schools and consideration of possible conversion of some existing schools to a multi-track calendar. Offering opportunities to apply for voluntary enrollment in a year-round middle school will enhance the ability of the schools to optimize team organization.

Q: Why not convert high schools to multi-track year-round calendars?

A: Offering a full curriculum to separate tracks of 700 students requires more teachers than the same curriculum offered to a school of 2100 students and operating expenses would increase significantly if the existing diverse curriculum was to be maintained. The additional operating costs would outweigh the initial savings in construction costs after approximately ten years. Significant operational problems would challenge the administrators responsible for a four-track high school. School security would be a major problem as groups of students tracked in or out and extra-curricular activities spanned the track calendars. Providing equitable access to clubs, sports, and various school activities would be difficult. Recruitment and retention of highly qualified teachers would be difficult because of the need to have one teacher teaching many levels and sections of courses to small groups of students. For example, one French language teacher serving one track, would be responsible for teaching five different levels, with the advanced levels each having just a few students, and there would not be enough students taking French in one track to fill more than three course sections during a year. Therefore the French teacher would need to be qualified to teach another language or some subject other than foreign language. Few teachers would be able to teach multiple sections of the same course within a track, requiring additional planning time and contributing to teacher burnout.