Wake County Early Voters Support $680M School Construction Bond Referendum
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- Wake County's $680 million school bond referendum was passing as of early voting results on Tuesday.
- The bond will fund the construction of three new schools and major renovations in nine existing schools.
- Approximately 83% of the bond funds will be allocated to existing schools, rather than new construction.
Wake County early voters strongly backed a $680 million school construction bond referendum, aiming to address aging facilities and malfunctioning HVAC systems.
Initial results from the Wake County Board of Elections website, reflecting early voters' choices, showed the referendum comfortably ahead. If the results hold, it will mark the approval of over $4 billion in school construction borrowing since 2000.
The bond is a significant component of an $832.3 million school construction plan for the 2027-28 and 2028-29 fiscal years. This includes building three new schools, major renovations in nine schools, and extensive upgrades throughout the district, such as HVAC and security enhancements.
Due to a slowdown in enrollment growth, 83% of the funds will be allocated to existing schools.
The largest project is a $133 million rebuild of Ligon Middle School in Raleigh, dating back to 1953. The plan also involves approximately $49 million in HVAC upgrades, including large plant replacements at four schools, HVAC replacements at eleven schools, chillers at five schools, and boilers at eight schools.
These upgrades come in response to heating or air conditioning issues that have caused at least one instructional day to be lost in a third of the schools since 2023.
Supporters of the bond argued that it would only increase property taxes by $21 annually on the average homeowner. However, bond opponents, including the Wake County Republican Party, characterized it as "just another tax."
Prior to the election, Wake County voters had not rejected a school construction bond referendum since 1999.