September 12th, 2016, the school board met in the courthouse to have their regular session. However, this meeting was especially important. Board members made the decision to construct two new schools. One of these schools will be a new high school which pulls from Northwood’s district and the other will be an elementary school.
Where will the high school be located?
The new school will be on around 75 acres of land on Seaforth Rd.
What happened to expanding Northwood?
“At first the data was showing that we had to put the addition onto Northwood first,” Chief Operations Officer and former Northwood principal Chris Blice said. “Then within a month, we had a new set of predictions from ORED (Office of Research and Economic Development) which were very different, and Chatham Park handed us their population projections for the next 10 years. [The school board] realized very quickly that if we put an expansion on Northwood before [the new school] was finished, [Northwood] would be way over capacity again.”
Expansion for Northwood is still set to happen, but a new school will be built first.
“We have to build the new school before an expansion to get more kids out of here,” Blice said.
What are the steps to building a new school?
First the land must be inspected. After that, a proposal will be sent to the commissioners and then back to the school board. Meanwhile, the schematic design for the school is being worked on. Though these are not official blueprints for the school, they will offer a good guideline to what the school could look like.
It will take around a year to draw up official plans in which construction plans can start. The project must then be bid out to construction companies. Once the final price is set, it will be approved by the commissioner. Construction of the school is estimated to take around three years. Blice hopes that the school will open in Fall 2021.
Why not Jack Bennet Rd.?
For a number of years, rumors have swirled around about a new school being built off of Jack Bennet Rd., close to North Chatham Elementary. The problem, however, is that the road that would connect the land (which is already owned by the state) is only two lanes.
“[The school] would be a brand new building, with worse traffic than [at Northwood],” Blice said.
The board has received projections that show that the part of the county near Apex and Jordan Lake will grow faster than that of Pittsboro.
Blice also said he hopes that the property on Jack Bennet Rd. will be used as the land for a middle school. The school board owns this land.
Why is this the right time and not earlier?
Chatham Park is going to be huge: a population increase of 60,000 and over 7,000 acres huge. Apex is also moving west and will increase Moncure’s population. Right now, Northwood’s brick and mortar capacity is around 800. It currently holds around 1,400 students, meaning the school is over the brick and mortar limit. The brick and mortar capacity does not include the modular units. Blice believes that the time is now because the new school will take just enough from Northwood and have enough space to prepare for the future.
According to Blice, when he was Northwood’s principal, there was pressure to build a new school when Northwood’s population was just 850 students. If they were to have built a new school, then the population of Northwood would have to be cut in half.
“I was vehemently opposed to [building a new school] because I knew what it would do to [North- wood],” Blice said.
This would result in loss of programs and less “flesh and blood” teachers. Building a new school back in 2008 would have taken away a lot from Northwood, and the county would be stuck with four high schools with around 450 students.
“Now we are at a point with the numbers that we don’t have a choice, and our numbers will come back up,” Blice said.
Building the school will of course take away some teachers at Northwood, but Blice hopes that the population of Northwood will be big enough for the school to keep its current programs.
Will the new school be similar to any other schools in Chatham county?
The new school will be cutting edge, much like Margaret B. Pollard Middle School. However, high schools cannot be built the same way middle schools are.
“Middle schools tend to be more team oriented while high schools are departmentalized,” Blice said.
How will the new school’s layout look?
The new school will have a classroom capacity of 1,200 students and a core capacity of 1,400 students.
Why only make a school that can hold around 1,400?
With Chatham Parks coming in and Apex moving west, one would think that it would be smart to make a school that holds 2,000-3,000 students, much like those in Raleigh. However, this would be a waste of space for a long time, according to Blice.
“It will sit empty for a long time,” Blice said. “It’s just not fiscally responsible.”
How much will this school cost?
The school will cost $60-65 million. This includes furnishing, plumbing, wiring, etc.
How will this new school affect Northwood?
“It’s going to take a good [amount of kids] from [Northwood], because remember, you’re splitting Northwood’s attendance zone in half,” Blice said.
Currently, Northwood students are taken from the entire eastern half of the county. When the new school is finished, Northwood will then focus its zoning on the Pittsboro area while the new school will focus on the southeastern part.
“We are 3A right now for athletics,” said principal Justin Bartholomew. “We might stay or go to big 2A.”
– By Tanner Althoff