Charge

Principles and Guidelines

  1. Wake County's population is expected to grow to 692,000 by 2005. This will represent an increase of approximately 100,000 citizens over the next five to six years. This is due to a number of factors including job growth in the area, the region's low unemployment rate, and the high quality of public education and higher education in the area.

  2. The number of students in the Wake County Schools is expected to grow to 115,200 students by 2005. This represents an increase of approximately 20,400 students over the next five to six years.

  3. In broad terms, the Committee's charge is identify and recommend strategies that appropriately balance school infrastructure needs with increasing operating costs for the next five years of growth in Wake County.


Charge

To recommend to the Board of County Commissioners and Board of Education an acceptable* capital spending plan for schools in addressing the needs for:

  1. New Schools
  2. Renovations and repairs to existing schools
  3. Other facilities (such as joint use facilities, Teacher Training Center, Bus Maintenance facilities, etc.)
  4. Technology

and to recommend strategies for broader inclusion of the community for future capital spending plans.


*Acceptable

Acceptable is defined as broad consensus or agreement on the following:


New Schools

To identify the number of new schools to build over the next five years. (To answer the question-How many schools, of what type and size, and with what core and ancillary facilities are needed to meet the student growth projections?)

  1. Review, discuss and agree on the set of assumptions
    • Capacity models
    • Space standards
    • Permanent seats/mobile classrooms
    • Other options to relieve overcrowding (e.g. year-round schools, double sessions, capping, etc.)
    • Design and construction standards
    • Project delivery methods
  2. Review, discuss and agree on a set of financing assumptions and strategies (How to pay for it).
    • Bonds and/or Pay-as-you-go
    • Tax rate impacts

Renovations/Repairs to Existing Schools

To identify the number and type of renovations and repairs to existing schools over the next five years.

  1. Review and discuss the school system's process in preparing the list of improvements
  2. Review, discuss and agree on the assumptions used to prepare the list and amount of improvements
  3. Review, discuss and agree on a set of financing assumptions and strategies.

Other Facilities

To identify other capital facility needs for the Wake County Public School System over the next five years.

  1. Review, discuss and agree on the assumptions used to determine other facility needs for the school system.
  2. Review, discuss and evaluate the business analyses of alternatives.
  3. Review, discuss and agree on other capital facility needs.
  4. Review, discuss and agree on a set of financing assumptions and strategies.

Technology

To identify what components of the technology plan should be included in the schools capital plan over the next five years.

  1. Review, discuss and agree on the assumptions used in development of the Classroom Connections (schools technology plan.)
  2. Review, discuss and agree on the components of the technology plan to be included in the capital plan.
  3. Review, discuss and agree on a set of financing assumptions and strategies.

Resources and Roles

Information and data for capital plan processes, standards, assumptions, cost estimates, capacity models and programming-Wake County School System

Information and data on enrollment projections and financing alternatives-Wake County

The Committee may want to solicit additional research on processes, standards, assumptions, and financing alternatives from other public and private school systems.