Raleigh, N.C. — The Wake County school district hopes to build 24 new schools and renovate 28 existing schools over the next four years to accommodate estimated growth in the student population, school system leaders said Tuesday.
The school board plans to ask voters to approve bonds to fund the expansion.
The Wake County Board of Education's Facilities Committee met Tuesday to discuss how the school district will handle the estimated 4,000 new students expected to join the school system each year from 2012-13 to 2016-17.
Construction of an elementary school costs around $25 million and a high school comes with a $75 million price tag, district leaders said.
A bond referendum for school construction and renovation could appear on the Wake County ballot as early as May.
School board committee members said their initial plans are to prepare for a worst-case scenario. They said they realize more discussion is needed before they make final recommendations on how many schools to build and how many to renovate.



![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/news/local/politics/2007/02/06/1195254/1296152831-_NCCapitol_800x600-100x75.jpg)
![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/entertainment/movies/2007/12/29/2229920/2229920-1208172047-100x75.jpg)
![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/2008/06/05/3000786/swimming_pool-100x75.jpg)
![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/lifestyles/goaskmom/2011/04/28/9516059/9516069-1304016629-100x75.jpg)
![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/lifestyles/house_and_home/2008/07/27/3287725/Blueberries-100x75.jpg)
![[VIEW PAGE]](http://wwwcache.wral.com/asset/traffic/2009/07/23/5645694/beltline-100x75.jpg)


WRAL.com welcomes your comments on this story. All comments are moderated prior to publication based on our posting guidelines. Please review them prior to posting and if your message is not approved.
This story is closed for comments.
August 9, 2012 10:54 a.m.
Well, that's the truth. Do you have a problem with someone telling the truth?
August 9, 2012 10:41 a.m.
In other words, if you're a American citizen that never learned how to speak English, it's not your problem, it's the taxpayer's problem to solve for you.
The article says about half of the Latino students have limited proficiency in English, and Legal Aid of North Carolina says the taxpayer's have to accommodate them.
We're required to build school space for them, spend time and money on documents they can read, but we can't check to see why they don't speak English very well, if at all.
I suppose the Wake County Board of Education can't figure out that people are tired of paying to give extra support to people who don't even bother to learn how to speak our Country's language.
http://www.wral.com/news/education/wake_county_schools/story/11197415/
August 8, 2012 4:58 p.m.
We need a bond to pay for finding and deporting people who broke the law by coming here.
That would make a big dent in both the school overcrowding -and- unemployment problems.
August 8, 2012 4:28 p.m.
August 8, 2012 4:09 p.m.