When you go to vote this fall, don’t forget to flip your ballot over.
On the back, after they’ve bubbled in their picks for U.S. Senate and county commissioner and maybe city council, and weighed in on three proposed constitutional amendments, if Wake County voters will see at least two and as many as four local bond questions.
In addition to countywide public schools and community college bonds, Raleigh voters will decide on a housing bond and a transportation bond, and Knightdale will vote on a parks bond. If approved, the various packages will pay for a wide array of public projects, from overdue school HVAC repairs to protected bike lanes and affordable homes.
Local governments issue bonds to finance capital investments like new buildings, renovations, or equipment purchases—projects that need a one-time cash infusion. Once the money is gone, it’s gone, so you won’t see recurring costs like salaries or program expenses in a bond package.
Bonds often (but not always) require a tax increase in order to pay back the principal amount plus interest. Big public projects will always cost money, but municipal bonds are generally considered to be one of the most secure and cost-effective options for governments and taxpayers alike due to their lower interest rates compared to other types of borrowing.
Wake County voters tend to support bond referenda by wide margins. The 2024 library bond passed easily, as did the 2022 public schools and community college bonds. Raleigh’s 2020 affordable housing bond sailed to approval. Notable recent exceptions to this trend include Cary’s failed 2024 parks and housing bonds, which, with a combined price tag of $560 million, were too pricey for voters who were already staring down higher-than-expected tax bills after that year’s property revaluation. Bond referenda need a simple majority of votes to pass.
It’s worth noting that if North Carolina’s proposed constitutional amendment requiring limits on local property tax increases passes, it will hamstring governments’ ability to issue bonds in the future. Even though Wake voters have historically been enthusiastic about bonds that improve their schools, infrastructure, and public spaces, a September Elon University poll showed 71% statewide support for the property tax amendment among likely voters. Limiting property tax increases and bond issuances could conceivably force local governments to cut spending elsewhere to pay for big projects, or else abandon them.
Look up your sample ballot here to preview what you’ll see when you vote, including the exact language for each referendum. Early voting begins October 15 and Election Day is November 3.
Read on for more information about each bond referendum.
Wake County Public Schools Bond
Amount: $680 million
In a nutshell: Funding to construct two new schools, replace or majorly renovate six schools, and design an additional four new buildings or make renovations. Plus, funding for HVAC, technology, security, and other capital improvements around the district.
Taxpayer cost: $4.10 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year. (Look up your property’s assessed value here.)
Who votes: All registered voters in Wake County
The Wake County Public School System (WCPSS) serves around 161,000 students across 204 schools, some of which sorely need renovations and infrastructure replacements. The district also needs to build new schools to accommodate population growth. With funding from this bond, plus an additional $152.3 million cash commitment from Wake County, the district plans to construct two new elementary schools in Wendell and Knightdale and design a future elementary school in Zebulon. Nine existing elementary, middle, and high schools in Raleigh, Cary, Garner, and Wendell are slated for renovation and replacement. The bond will fund construction for six of those projects and design for another three. (Find the full list of projects here.) Other schools around the district would get money for technology, furniture, and equipment refreshes. For example, according to a district presentation, the bond would support HVAC replacements at 11 schools and new fire alarms at 15 schools.
WCPSS’s capital needs go beyond what this bond would fund, so voters should expect to see more bond referenda in future election cycles. The district’s long-term Capital Improvement Plan involves adding one additional elementary, middle, and high school over the next decade and renovating or replacing seven more beyond what’s included in this bond package.
Wake Technical Community College Bonds
Amount: $149.1 million
In a nutshell: Funding to expand Wake Tech’s public safety, skilled trades, automotive, and dental hygiene programs, renovate the Southern Wake campus, and update basic infrastructure and IT across all seven campuses.
Estimated taxpayer cost: $0.90 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year. (Look up your property’s assessed value here.)
Who votes: All registered voters in Wake County
Wake Tech is North Carolina’s largest community college by population with more than 72,000 students across its network of campuses. According to college president Scott Ralls, it’s the largest public safety education provider in the state and the largest health care education provider in Wake County. If voters approve this bond, $41 million would go toward expanding Wake Tech’s workforce programs, including its public safety, automotive, skilled trades, and dental hygiene offerings, which Ralls said are some of its most in-demand.
“Wake County runs on Wake Tech,” he said. “If you’re in a hospital, the nurse, the radiographer, the EKG technician, the sonographer tech—if you ask, you’ll find out a lot of times they’re from Wake Tech. If you happen to be in an accident and a police [officer] or paramedic [shows up, there is a] very good chance that they’re from Wake Tech. If your car needs to be repaired, very good chance that those technicians are from Wake Tech.”
$65 million from the bond would fund renovations to Wake Tech’s Southern Wake campus. $20.4 million would go toward facilities updates around all seven campuses, including HVAC repairs, accessibility upgrades, and roofing. The remaining $22.7 would fund technology, vehicle, and equipment purchases.
This year’s proposed bond builds on a $349 million bond passed in 2018 and a $353 million bond passed in 2022. Those investments mostly went toward building new facilities, Ralls said, while this smaller bond is mostly dedicated to renovating Wake Tech’s existing space. High-quality teaching spaces and equipment are especially important for a jobs-focused college like Wake Tech, where students often need hands-on training with physical tools or technology, he said.
“Online and [traditional] classrooms are not sufficient, so we have to create these unique spaces for these types of careers and jobs that are very important to us in our community,” Ralls said.
City of Raleigh Housing Bonds
Amount: $101.5 million
In a nutshell: Funding for affordable housing construction and preservation, homebuyer assistance, and homelessness response.
Estimated taxpayer cost: $0 per year
Who votes: All voters with City of Raleigh–registered addresses
Last year, Raleigh began setting aside money from property and sales taxes in a dedicated fund so that it could issue (and pay back) bonds at regular intervals without raising taxes. Using this “steady state” financing model, the city expects to issue $203 million worth of bonds every four years for the foreseeable future, assuming voters approve the bond referenda. This cycle, Raleigh is asking voters to support a $101.5 million affordable housing bond and a $101.5 million transportation bond.
The housing bond is split into four buckets: $57.6 million for affordable housing development and preservation, $21.5 million for a mixed-income revolving loan fund, $12 million for homelessness response, and $10.4 million for homebuyer assistance.
According to a May presentation to the city council, the city expects to create or preserve between 160 and 510 housing units, provide homebuyer assistance for 40 to 50 units, and provide services to 125 unhoused people annually for the next four years. The homelessness response funds will be contributed to the Wake at Home program, which provides a year of housing and services to transition people out of homelessness. The revolving loan fund will contribute to city-owned developments at Moore Square and the old Southeast Raleigh DMV site.
Terrell Midgett is a cofounder of Raleigh Raised Development and a cochair of the “Vote Yes Raleigh” campaign to pass both city bonds this year. Raleigh Raised is building the Cottages of Idlewild, a cottage court neighborhood of 18 affordable-priced homes near downtown. The project is using public and private dollars and a land trust model to keep the homes permanently affordable. Midgett said the housing bond will pave the way for more affordable housing like the Cottages of Idlewild.
“This bond is something to help us create and preserve the footprint of a growing city,” he said.
Raleigh passed an $80 million affordable housing bond in 2020, funding the creation or preservation of about 2,500 affordable housing units. Midgett said this new bond would build on the work of the previous one, which “did everything it’s supposed to do, but still the need is greater.”
City of Raleigh Transportation Bonds
Amount: $101.5 million
In a nutshell: Funding for roads, sidewalks, bike lanes, bridges, curbs and drains, bus and train stations and shelters, and other transportation-related projects around the city.
Estimated taxpayer cost: $0 per year
Who votes: All voters with City of Raleigh–registered addresses
Like Raleigh’s housing bond, this one requires no tax increase thanks to the steady state financing model. If it’s approved, $51.5 million would go toward South Wake Bus Rapid Transit lanes and deferred road projects including Marsh Creek Road, Trawick Road West, and Ebenezer Church Road. $40 million would go toward building five miles of new sidewalks and 50 miles of “high-comfort bikeways” across Raleigh over the next five years. The remaining $10 million would go to neighborhood traffic calming, intersection safety, and transportation partnerships.
Midgett, the Raleigh builder, said affordable housing goes hand in hand with roads, bike lanes, and bus lanes. “We can’t build [housing] without the infrastructure,” he said.
Town of Knightdale Parks and Recreation Bonds
In a nutshell: Funding for a new public park and community center.
Amount: $55 million
Estimated taxpayer cost: $35 per $100,000 of assessed property value per year. (Look up your property’s assessed value here.)
Who votes: All voters with Town of Knightdale–registered addresses
With the bond funding, Knightdale proposes to build a new public park at 2004 Marks Creek Road complete with a playground, an athletic field, a lawn, a stage, meadows, a pond, a basketball court, pickleball courts, a paved jogging track, and a community center with a gym, an indoor stage, multipurpose rooms, and fitness studios inside. Knightdale currently has one recreation center but no multiuse community center like the one proposed here. See a rendering of the proposed park and read more about it here.
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