2007-08 Adopted Plan - Wake County Public School System

Blueprint for Excellence 2006 Capital Improvement Planhigh schools will open between 2008 and 2011.Year-round schools: WCPSS will gain an additional 3,000 elementaryseats by converting 19 existing elementary schools to the multi-trackyear-round calendar. The plan also calls for gaining 2,000 middle schoolseats through the conversion of three middle schools to year-round and/or the addition of mobile/modular classrooms. Schools on the multi-trackyear-round calendar can serve 20-33 percent more students than schoolson the traditional calendar because at any given time, one of four groupsis out on break. For every three schools on the year-round calendar, thatis one less school that WCPSS needs to build.Ninth Grade Centers: To help with crowding at high schools, WCPSSplans to add fi ve or six ninth-grade centers in 2006 through 2008. Oneof the centers in particular is a great example of WCPSS’ innovativesolutions for providing classrooms: WCPSS is retrofi tting a former WinnDixie in Wake Forest for Wakefi eld High’s ninth-graders. In addition,Wake Forest-Rolesville High will use the modular campus at the DuBoisCenter, Millbrook High will use the mobile/modular units already oncampus from its earlier renovation project, Cary High’s new classroomaddition included in this bond will function as an interim ninth-gradecenter, Garner High will utilize additional modular classrooms on itscurrent property later this year, and there will probably be another centerin southwestern Wake.to addressing traffi c safety issues to making areas accessible to thosewith disabilities.The plan also addresses repairs and maintenance projects at nearly100 schools across the county. These deferred life-cycle replacementsinvolve roofs, air conditioning systems, boiler replacements, etc. -things one typically does not think about until they stop working. Todetermine renovation needs, WCPSS looks at building system lifecyclereplacements and a 40-year major renovation cycle. Schools areprioritized based on a facility condition index, a ratio of the cost of workneeded at the building divided by the building replacement value.Technology: The bond will allow WCPSS to implement a technologyreplacement and upgrade program. A signifi cant number of thecomputers used by students and teachers in Wake County schools areold and outdated. They cannot run much of the current instructionalsoftware; they run so slowly that students are frustrated trying to usethem; they frequently break down and are out of service until repairs canbe made; or teachers are fearful of using them due to other performanceissues. A systematic replacement of these computers will enable studentand teacher access to the wealth of technology resources and onlineinformation available to support teaching and learning in Wake Countyschools.Land Banking: Signs advertising new developments are evident all overthe county. With the availability of suitable land shrinking and the costof land skyrocketing, it is wise to buy land now for future use. That iswhy the CIP includes funding for land and design start up for 13 futureschools - seven elementary, four middle, and two high - to open in 2011-2013. Ideally, WCPSS wants to purchase property further ahead, butthis is a good start.Renovations: Older schools need renovation to ensure they are qualityplaces for teachers to teach and children to learn. This CIP covers majorrenovations at 13 schools: Aversboro Elementary, Bugg Elementary,Cary High, East Millbrook Middle, East Wake High, Enloe High, LacyElementary, Lynn Road Elementary, Martin Middle, Poe Elementary,Root Elementary, Smith Elementary, and Wilburn Elementary.Renovations range from replacing or renovating 40 year-old classrooms137 FY 2007-08 Plan for Student Success