School Construction Report

November 16, 2006

VOTERS APPROVE BONDS TO BUILD SCHOOLS
Wake County voters approved the school bond referendum November 7, providing the funds to build the schools needed to relieve crowding, make needed improvements and serve thousands of new students.

With 99 percent of votes counted on Nov. 8, the vote stood at 104,717 "Yes" and 92,810 "No." It was 53 percent "Yes" and 47 percent "No."


Rosa Gill, Del Burns and Patti Head offer thanks for passage of the bond referendum.

Superintendent Del Burns, Board of Education Chair Patti Head and Vice-Chair Rosa Gill offered thanks to voters for their support of the bond, the school system and the students of Wake County.

"This is one great day for one great community," Dr. Burns said. "In the end, voters in Wake County stood for children and we can continue to do the hard and important work of making sure that every child graduates on time and prepared for the future."

Wake voters approved a $970 million bond to pay for a $1.056 billion school construction plan. The bond is the largest approved by a North Carolina county for school construction.

Of the 89 bond issues in North Carolina counties since 1995, the next largest to be approved was the $500 million Wake County referendum in November 2000. Voters approved a $450 million Wake County referendum in October 2003, $415 million Mecklenburg County referendum in November 1997; and $300 million Guilford County referendum in November 2003.

The Wake County vote followed more than 18 months of hard work by the Board of Education and Board of County Commissioners as they met at least monthly to review construction assumptions and develop a school construction package that both boards agreed to support.

By working together, the two groups agreed to create a county Facility Advisory Committee made up of experts in the building field to review construction of county and school facilities; agreed on building larger capacity schools while finding areas to reduce square footage in elementary and middle schools; and school site size. In all, 21 issues were discussed as the two boards reached agreement on the construction program.

The school system turned to the community repeatedly seeking input on the school construction program. Citizens gave input in public hearings, online comments, and focus groups.

Community support was key to the bonds approval. The Friends of Wake County led by Bill Atkinson and Ann Goodnight and the Greater Raleigh Chamber of Commerce led discussion of the bond needs. The Wake PTA Council and more than 50 school PTAs approved resolutions of support. Mayors Charles Meeker of Raleigh, Ernie McAlister of Cary and Ronnie Williams of Garner offered their endorsement for the bonds in a news conference.

The construction program is needed to address explosive enrollment growth. More than 7,500 new students arrived this year to attend Wake schools that were already crowded. This is the first of six years where 7,000-9,000 additional new students are projected for WCPSS. Wake currently enrolls 128,072 students.

The construction program 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 nearly 100 schools. It includes the conversion of 19 elementary schools and three middle schools to the multi-track year-round calendar beginning in 2007-08.

Work to build four new elementary schools is expected to start in March. School designs have been completed and property acquired. The next step is for the school board to seek funding authorizations from the county commissioners.

The first four elementary schools to be built are Cary Park, River Bend, Laurel Park and a school designated E17 that will be off Leesville Road. The plan is to have the schools open for 2008-09. Funds will be requested to build the new Heritage High due to be completed in 2009, and to begin major renovation projects for East Millbrook Middle and Lynn Road Elementary.

Click to View

 GrowthCast is a short (3 minutes or less) QuickTime video covering some aspect of Wake County's record-setting growth and its impact on the school system. This week's GrowthCast takes a look at what happens in light of the Nov. 7 referendum's passage.

BOARD RECEIVES UPDATE ON PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS
The school board received an update on public-private partnerships (PPPs) at its Nov. 15 Facilities Committee meeting. Senate Bill 2009 was ratified in August 2006, giving school systems the ability to enter into a lease for privately developed public schools. Previously, N.C. school systems could lease and renovate facilities, but now, the Board of Education would identify where schools are needed, provide design and construction specifications to the builders, and then lease the facility upon completion.

PPPs are a financing mechanism. Basically, districts would trade off capital funds generated by bonds for cash for annual lease payments. While PPPs in other states typically have not shown major cost savings in building costs, there can be a time savings, which equates to beating inflation. There are a number of unknowns at this point, including the determination of available revenue streams.

Staff presented comparisons of the PPP and design plus construction management at risk methods, identifying similarities and differences. PPPs might be able to procure land faster, but the private companies would still have to go through the similar approval process and bidding process that the Wake County Public School System does now. Design could be less, and tax credits for energy saving items exist for private industry, but not for non-profits. The lease cost would reflect any change orders during construction. Maintenance could be a part of the lease agreement or separate and there could be some potential savings with utilities. However, there are fees associated with PPPs - partners have profits and overheads to cover.

The Facilities Committee directed staff to continue to produce the needed documentation for a future Request for Qualifications from interested developers. The committee will review selection criteria, lease terms and financial analysis models to show that the projects are in the best interest of the school system and, ultimately, the taxpayers.

WCPSS's Facilities Department has met with a dozen or more companies interested in the district's plans for public-private options.

Horace Tart, Facilities Committee chair, said: "We are encouraged by today's report. While there are items to consider, this may help us in providing the seats we need sooner than other options we have had in the past."

Staff suggested a pilot program to compare traditionally built schools with ones built by private developers and will present more information to the committee in December.

WCPSS will share yesterday's information with the independent Citizens Facilities Advisory Committee in December as well.

Some other highlights of SB 2009 include:

Additional terms may include: site selection, financing, energy usage guarantees, facility maintenance, repairs and scheduled replacements of equipment

The School Construction Report is published electronically every other week for everyone interested in the Wake County Public School System. Is what you read in this edition helpful? What information would you like to see in future editions? Contact me by calling 850-1829 or e-mailing bposton@wcpss.net.

Bill Poston
Wake County Public School System
Communications Department
3600 Wake Forest Road
Raleigh, North Carolina 27611

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