Good morning, readers.
At a Durham Public Schools Board of Education meeting late last month, residents made a renewed push for the district to reconsider its $240 million plan to build a new Durham School of the Arts campus in North Durham.
Twelve speakers, all past and present DSA students and parents, or neighbors of the current downtown campus or the future location, implored the board to “pause, assess, and engage” with a plan that would use funds from a 2022 bond referendum to finance the construction of the new facility.
The speakers’ reasons differed. Some said construction costs would take away money from more needed renovations at other schools in the district. Others said a move out of downtown would be disruptive for current DSA families, and others cited traffic problems at the planned location. DSA’s downtown location, some speakers said, gives students a sense of community and many can commute to school by foot, bike, or city bus; some students have after-school jobs close by.
“It seems like a waste to build a new building instead of repairing the old one,” said Dara Baldwin, a DSA alum and current student mentor. “There is a lot of history in the building, both good and bad, but I think new students and new community coming in and sharing those spaces would improve Durham as it is downtown.”
Board members haven’t given any indication that they’ll change course. It would cost around $370 million to renovate the current, 100-year-old campus located between Duke and Gregson Streets according to DPS director of building services Fred Davis. And board members have praised renderings of the new facility.
But as the timeline to build the new campus shortens, and with residents showing up periodically to board meetings to oppose the plans, it doesn’t look like the issue is going away anytime soon.
Have a good Monday.
—Jane
Durham
ICYMI: Durham’s city council is suddenly enforcing its rules of decorum, leaving some residents frustrated and confused.
Wake
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Orange
The Town of Carrboro is hosting a design workshop for the Greene Tract on April 14.
Chapel Hill’s Town Council is strengthening requirements for stormwater control.
North Carolina
Yolanda Hill, who is married to NC lieutenant governor and GOP gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson, will close her school nutrition nonprofit that has drawn scrutiny.
North Carolina district attorneys want to pause the state’s eCourts system.
Today’s weather
Sunny with a high of 74 degrees.
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