Garner, Wake School Officials Discuss Future High School

The purpose was to talk about a 72-acre lot along Old Garner Road. The district wants to put a new high school there. The land alone would cost $3.7 million, but town leaders aren't sold on the idea.

Garner Mayor Ronnie Williams said he has concerns about the increasing traffic in that area.

“I don’t think it’s conducive to a high school,” he said.

Trucks that exit the concrete mixing plant just across the street is just one concern. Town leaders also fear the school won't fit with downtown development efforts, and there's the ongoing debate over reassignment.

Garner town leaders, Wake County school board members and school staff went parcel by parcel, mapping out and laying out the equation they use to find land for schools all over the county.

Assistant Superintendent of Facilities Michael Burriss said the district recognizes there would need to be improvements, starting with the road. Garner town leaders say if this project goes forward, they just want to be a part of the process.

The school would hold an estimated 2,200 students. And while school leaders are in the process of buying the land now, the high school won't be finished until 2011 at the earliest.