Durham Public Schools staff previewed a district-wide facilities condition assessment (FCA) and outlined a 10-year capital improvement planning (CIP) process the district will use to prioritize building, infrastructure and modernization needs across all schools.

Presentation highlights: Operations staff and the consultant team summarized the portfolio's scale and age: the district's buildings represent roughly 6.4 million square feet, the average building age is 59 years, and consultants identified approximately $900 million in like-for-like capital needs for building systems and fixed infrastructure. The presenter said the first five years of that Tier 1 need (life-safety and critical building systems) totals roughly $560 million. "The district has 6,400,000 square feet that was evaluated by our consultant team... and based on the review... we have a current need of approximately $900,000,000 for dressing aging facilities and infrastructure," the presenter said.

Learning Environment Guidelines: Consultants produced updated technical specifications and learning-environment guidelines — the district now has model-school standards for elementary, middle and high schools to aiming for parity in equipment and space across projects, including the first-ever middle- and high-school learning-format guides.

Bond history and strategy: Staff reviewed prior bond packages (2016, 2022) and noted the 2022 bond emphasized new construction and modernization but left aging-infrastructure needs only partially addressed; the district estimates about $200 million of 2022 bond projects remain unfulfilled. Staff recommended a multi-phase approach to address urgent infrastructure needs, scheduled modernizations and capacity-driven new construction, including land acquisition and multi-year sequencing.

Growth and capacity: The district anticipates adding roughly 4,800 students by 2033-34 under current development assumptions, a projection that could require about three elementary schools, two middle schools and one high school over the next decade, with an estimated price in today's dollars of about $482 million to add those new seats.

Equity and community engagement: Staff emphasized community engagement and transparency, proposing regional working groups and multiple rounds of community conversation to align priorities. They proposed a task force composition that would include board leaders, district operations, finance, community representatives and city/county partners to prepare a bond proposal and public materials.

Why it matters: The FCA and CIP preview lays out a multi-hundred-million-dollar gap between the district's current facilities and model standards. Staff told the board the work is time-consuming and will require phased financing and coordination with the city and county, and staff recommended early engagement with local government partners to consider bundling or multiyear bond strategies.

Next steps: The consultant team will present more detailed FCA findings on May 22. Staff will conduct regional analysis and community engagement, refine cost estimates (including updated pricing beyond like-for-like replacement), and bring a recommended CIP timeline and bond strategy to the board for consideration.