Community Engagement and Economic Development Fact Sheet

Community Engagement Meetings

In October, WCPSS will begin a series of public meetings to inform and involve the public in the upcoming student assignment process. For more information, please visit the 2004 Community Engagement Meetings Resource Center.

Growth

WCPSS had 114,092 students on the 20th day of school (2004-05).
From 1999 to 2003, WCPSS added nearly 12,000 students
In the last two years, WCPSS added 9,600 students (4,500 last year and 5,100 this year).
During the school year, WCPSS grows on average by more than one classroom a day.
With student population growth much higher than projections, state-mandated class size reductions at third grade (requires two and a half elementary schools), and approximately 1,900 students returning from private, charter, home and parochial schools, WCPSS will be almost 6,000 seats short next school year (2005-06).

Creative Options

WCPSS staff and the Board of Education are discussing possible temporary solutions, such as:

Adding mobile units and modular classroom units
Leasing property to be retrofitted or used as a site for a modular school
Building a modular ninth-grade center

WCPSS hopes to have a decision from the school board in October.

For more information, please visit the Growth Matters archive.

Local Economic Impact of School Construction

WCPSS spends approximately $150 million a year on construction; 83 percent of that amount is spent with North Carolina contractors and 55 percent ($82.5 million) is spent with Wake County contractors.
Since each dollar "turns over" twice, WCPSS construction projects provide $160 million ($82.5 million x 2) for the local economy.
Approximately 16 percent of WCPSS construction dollars is spent with minority contractors.
PLAN 2004 School Building Program (2004-08) is financed with $450 million in bonds, $59 million in general revenues, and $41 million that the county has not yet identified.
From 1985 to 2003, Wake County voters have approved approximately $1.6 billion in school construction bond referenda by an average rate of 75 percent (total building program amount of $2.1 billion).

Basics

7,452 teachers, 13,974 employees
134 schools (84 elementary, 28 middle, 17 high, 5 special/optional schools)
665 national board certified teachers
WCPSS spends $7,538 per pupil
6,200 high school graduates in 2004
Class of 2004 earned $31.1 million in scholarships
2004-05 operating budget is $860 million (58 percent comes from state sources, 35 percent from local and 7 percent federal)

National Rankings

Bill McNeal named 2004 National Superintendent of the Year by the American Association of Educators
WCPSS named third in nation on Forbes Magazine's Top Ten List for The Best Education in The Biggest Cities
Bugg Elementary School named best magnet school in nation by the Magnet Schools of America (2003-04)

2004 Wake Public Education Community Assessment

Wake Education Partnership's biennial survey
82 percent give WCPSS a passing grade, with 54 percent rating the district as an "A" or "B"
60 percent rate WCPSS positively on fiscal management
65 percent say the school district needs more money