- Wake County Public School System
- CIP 2018 FAQ
FAQ
Capital Improvement Program 2018
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What is Capital Improvement Program 2018 (CIP 2018)?
CIP 2018 is the new school building program for Wake County that will help cover the costs for seven new schools, 11 major renovations, new digital classroom technology, updated school safety and security measures and land acquisition. Major renovations will be completed at Wiley ES, Stough ES, East Wake MS, Conn ES, Fuquay-Varina High School, York ES, Fuller ES and West Millbrook with funding from CIP 2018. In addition, the first steps toward major renovations at two additional elementary schools and one middle school will begin.
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Why is CIP 2018 important?
CIP 2018 will create additional classroom space for the approximately 6,000 students expected in the next several years and replace space lost due to new class size restrictions in grades K-3. Meanwhile, renovations to WCPSS's older schools will ensure quality seats to serve the needs of our children.
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What if my school isn't listed in the school building program?
All schools will be affected by the plan, even if they aren't listed. New schools and renovations will reduce crowding in other existing schools. Most schools will receive technology, furniture and equipment replacement and upgrades. Consider what nearby schools are receiving and what your school received from previous school bonds.
Funding
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How will CIP 2018 be financed?
The sale of General Obligation Bonds by the county would provide the majority of funds to build and renovate schools. With voter approval on November 6, 2018, the county government would issue bonds over the next two years totaling $548 million for WCPSS capital projects.
In addition, County Commissioners have agreed to spend $105 million in “pay-as-you-go” cash funding to supplement the amount that is borrowed.
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. -
What is the tax implication of the bond?
If voters approve this bond, the property tax impact would be $23 per $100,000 of assessed property value. For example, a home valued at $300,000 would see a $69 annual tax increase.
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Why use bonds?
General obligation bonds allow the county to borrow money and repay it – with low 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 schools will be used for decades to come, this is a fair and equitable way of sharing the cost with current and future residents as Wake County continues to grow.
Wake County is one of only five counties in North Carolina, and one of 46 in the nation, which have
a AAA credit rating from all three rating agencies, which translates into the lowest available interest rates. -
Why doesn't growth pay for itself?
If the county had a higher percentage of commercial growth than residential, growth might pay for itself (based on property taxes). But, 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 immediately, (such as schools), which cost money.
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What happens if the bond doesn't pass?
The needs won't go away. If the referendum doesn't pass, the Board of Commissioners must still determine how to pay for the needed space. General Obligation Bonds are the least expensive option to provide space for the rapidly growing number of students moving into Wake County and to replace inefficient school equipment that is at the end of its life expectancy.
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How does Wake County's property tax rate compare with other counties' rates?
At $0.6544, 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.
2018-19 Tax Rates
- Mecklenburg: $0.8232
- Guilford: $0.7305
- Cumberland: $0.7990
- Forsyth: $0.7235
- Wake: $0.6544
Source: North Carolina Association of County Commissioners: www.ncacc.org
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Doesn't the state lottery cover education costs?
Only 30 percent of all lottery revenue in North Carolina goes to education. Proceeds are used for pre-k, college scholarships, reduced class size in early grades and school construction. Wake County receives less than $11 million per year from lottery proceeds which equals less than half the cost of constructing a new elementary school. Wake County typically uses lottery proceeds to help pay WCPSS debt service on school bonds issued in support of building programs.
Source: http://www.ncpublicschools.org/fbs/allotments/lottery/
Other Measures
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Why doesn't Wake increase class size?
Class size is set by North Carolina law in grades K-3 and has become critically important to future building programs in Wake County.
New legislation governing K-3 class size will require Wake County to build or otherwise create the equivalent of nearly 438 K-3 classrooms by 2021-2022 - roughly 9,500 new seats. These classroom seats were not included in building plans from previous years because the state enforced class size rules differently at that time.
Class sizes in higher grades were increased this year to help create more space, but enrollments of 30-35 students per class, especially in elementary schools, are not conducive to quality instruction.
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Is Wake using innovative measures for providing classroom seats?
Yes, in addition to building new schools, the use of multi-track year-round schools and adding mobile/modular classroom units, WCPSS has taken advantage of adapting spaces that were not built as schools and creating ninth-grade centers to house more sophomores, juniors
and seniors on traditional high school campuses. -
Does Wake have long-range plans?
Yes, a “core team” of school officials and county leaders meet regularly to review and adjust population growth, enrollment predictions and school facility needs. This team is assisted by planning units from the 12 municipalities, the Capital Area Municipal Planning Organization and outside contractors. A recent result of this process was the creation of a 7-year rolling construction plan. The plan provides a way for the county, school district
and surrounding municipalities to better match the county’s financial capacity with the school district’s needs.
Design and Construction
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How do Wake's construction costs compare to other school districts in North Carolina?
It is difficult to compare the cost of building construction in other counties for several reasons. There is limited information available from the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) on their website for recent years. In addition, the cost of construction varies across the state based on the cost of doing business. Typically, it costs more in urban locations and “hot” markets. The Triangle is one of the higher cost markets in the state. Another reason is that WCPSS builds more multi-story schools than the average county due to a lack of buildable land.
Multi-story schools are generally more expensive per square foot, (despite the efficiencies gained in roofing, footingsand stacking), due primarily to higher structural and masonry costs for taller structures as well as other costs associated with elevated construction. Finally, not all counties include the same scope of construction in their costs (e.g. technology packages in separate contracts).A list of recent school projects throughout the state can be found at this link: http://www.schoolclearinghouse.org/
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How much does it cost to build a school?
Based on a 2018 presentation to the school board by Cumming Corporation, a national project management and cost projection company, a large elementary school operating on a year-round multi-track calendar and seating about 915 students will cost $41.4 million at current prices. This includes building costs, special academic program needs, site development, infrastructure costs such as water, roads
and sewers, as well as furniture and equipment. A middle school at today’s prices would cost $65.8 million and a high school about $115.1 million. The cost of the land itself is not part of the figures provided. -
What are Wake's land development costs?
Wake’s site development costs are typically greater than many other parts of the state. The primary reasons include the following:
- Stringent local regulations (e.g. requiring a half-mile of onsite driveways to accommodate elementary parent drop-off/pick-up and restrictive tree protection and buffer requirements)
Limited number of easy-to-develop sitesHigh cost of offsite roadway improvements in a congested county
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How long does it take to build a school?
On average, it takes 16 months to construct an elementary school, 21 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, 42 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.
The time required to build a school explains why major renovations can be completed in a two-year building program such as CIP 2018 while most new schools can be completed or substantially started, but not both, during the same amount of time.
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What does WCPSS consider when looking for new school sites?
WCPSS considers a number of factors in identifying a suitable school site for acquisition, including the school system’s needs; location, size and configuration of property; site conditions (i.e., topography, streams, wetlands, watersheds, excessive rock, unsuitable soils, or other features that tend to increase development costs); public utilities availability and proximity (water, sewer, electricity, gas); adequate road access (public road frontage, likely required road improvements, traffic and transportation issues); opportunities for joint-use (shared field use, community center, library, park, etc. with Wake County or municipalities); environmental issues (soil or groundwater site contamination, proximity to dangerous activities, airport overlays, proximity to nuclear power plant, high voltage power lines, gas line easements); annexation and zoning, proximity to other schools, length of time for acquisition, and costs (land costs, estimated site development costs and off-site development costs for utilities and roads).
Typically, WCPSS needs 20 acres for an elementary school, 30 acres for a middle school and 64 acres for a high school. Approximately 45 percent of the school acreage is needed for compliance with environmental regulations and local zoning ordinances. Multiple schools on a single site may require less than the sum of typical acreages and provide greater efficiencies in site usage and development costs.
Due to the scarcity of suitable land and competition with developers for suitable sites, the per acre land cost has skyrocketed. At the same time, the district has more aggressively pursued options that require less land. Less land, however, can also restrict the number of academic and non-academic programs a school can offer.
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What is the status of mobile/modular classrooms?
In 2017-2018, 14 percent of WCPSS students were learning in more than 1,000 mobile/modular classrooms across the county. That percentage has declined slightly in the past five years due to new construction and renovations. However, enrollment growth has limited the district’s ability to both reduce classroom trailers and keep up with the influx of new students.
Year-Round Schools
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Will the school building program include additional new year-round schools?
Beginning in 2018, the Board of Education required that all new schools be available for use as year-round schools.
The calendar of a school is determined by growth in the area, new school construction in the area, school feeder patterns, and opportunities for calendar choice.
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Why not convert all elementary and middle schools to multi-track year-round calendars?
Some existing schools have an insufficient number of classrooms to organize a multi-track calendar. Some schools have instructional programs that would be severely limited by a multi-track program.
Maintaining some schools on a traditional calendar, some schools on a modified calendar, and some schools on a multi-track year-round calendar also
allows families to have calendar options, which is a strong preference regularly voiced by parents. -
Why not convert high schools to multi-track year-round calendars?
Offering a full curriculum to separate tracks of 700 students requires more teachers than the same curriculum offered to a school of 2,100 students. 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. Significant operational problems would challenge the administrators responsible for a four-track high school. School security and providing equitable access to clubs, sports, and various school activities would be problematic.
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 four or 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.