County Commissioners Support School Board's Draft Building Plan
May 3, 2006-- At a joint work session on May 3, county commissioners gave non-binding approval to the school board’s draft capital improvement plan. Recognizing that the Board of Education will continue to refine the draft until their May 16 vote, commissioners said they supported the general size of the building program, as well as year-round conversion and the larger school sizes. Both boards emphasized the importance of speaking with a unified voice on the outcome of the November 2006 school bond referendum.
School board members also stressed that they tried to create a plan that the community would accept, knowing that the November bond is the first of three school construction referenda scheduled needed over the next 10 years to handle enrollment growth. Projections show Wake adding 40,000 students in the next five years and 72,000 students by 2015.
The draft capital improvement plan currently stands at $997 million. Based on previous funding ratios, approximately 20 percent is paid with cash, or pay-as-you-go funding, with the remainder on a bond referendum.
The school board will vote on a final plan on May 16, and then present it to the county commissioners on May 17.