District to chip in for road work near Cary's Panther Creek

Raleigh, N.C. — The Wake County Board of Education voted 5-4 this week to pay up to $750,000 of the cost of required road improvements around Panther Creek High School in Cary.

Cary's Town Council has asked the school system to pay $1.4 million to widen part of N.C. Highway 55 near the school, where the district wants to use three modular units to help ease overcrowding in the school.

Cary had offered a more flexible time frame to Wake leaders to start the improvements in three years and complete them in four years.

Cary Mayor Harold Weinbrecht said Friday that he is waiting to get the school board's offer in writing before he presents it to the Town Council to consider.

He has stated previously that Cary leaders are not willing to pay for any of the road improvements, partly because of a tight budget and partly because the town has donated $64 million to the school system since 2000 in cash, land and infrastructure improvements.

School board members have said it is not the school system's responsibility to pay for the road improvements and that it does not have the funding to do so. Private-sector parties usually are required to fund road improvements needed to accommodate development that will increase traffic.

Panther Creek is more than 500 students over its 1,663-student capacity. The modular units would provide 22 extra classrooms.

Since the fall, students have been attending classes in the school library and cafeteria and other alternatives to classrooms.

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Latest Comments

If Cary High School is under used then the school board should move the 500 students out of Panther Creek school to relieve the over crowding problem. The problem is that idea makes too much sense and we know the school board is lacking in that area.

mowermechanic2
February 5, 2009 3:00 p.m.

Cary gave the school system $64 million in cash, land and other needs! What are other towns giving the system for schools? How much total does the system get from towns and cities? And our children are learning in locker rooms and trailers? I do not understand!

memangum
February 5, 2009 2:54 p.m.

WCPSS blinked first. You can bet if the overcrowding was solved by busing the children of Cary's rich neighborhoods, there would have been money found in the Cary budget!

rushbot
February 5, 2009 2:32 p.m.

My step-son had to have his sports medicine class in the women's locker room among other places! How is a child supposed to learn? All this mess at Panther Creek while Cary High is at least 500 students under capacity. When is the Wake County School system going to learn? They've been behind for the past 22 years that I've been here and I don't see anything new on the horizon. You can't keep doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Wake County needs Change!!!!!!