Wake schools will keep searching for high school site

Raleigh, N.C. — Wake County commissioners and school board members have decided to keep looking for the site of what will be the county's largest high school.

Leaders want to consider two sites in Raleigh – on Ligon Mill Road and at the intersection of Lewisberry and Mitchell Mill roads – and two in Rolesville – at Louisbury Road and U.S. Highway 401 and on Catlett Farm Road.

Those sites are in addition to a proposed site at 2628 Forestville Road for the school, tentatively called Forest Ridge High School.

That location has caused a stir among nearby residents who have said they are concerned about traffic and the impact on their community.

County commissioners have also expressed concern about cost overruns in planning the school for that location. This summer, school officials put the price of necessary road work at least $7.4 million, $5.7 million more than the system budgeted.

Proposals on the new sites are expected next month.

The school system has looked at nearly 40 sites for the $74 million high school. Under the current plan, it is expected to open in 2012 and to hold more than 2,200 students

Some school and county officials have expressed concerns about not taking advantage of cheaper construction costs. Not moving forward on the Forestville Road site, they have said, could mean the county and school system paying more later.