Ten-year Prioritized Capital Improvement Program

Durham Public Schools has a regularly updated capital improvement plan for school construction, building renovations, and system-wide improvements to ensure that our schools and facilities are worthy of the students, educators, and staff members DPS serves. The capital program is funded from multiple sources including county-funded bonds, state funding, and the annual operating budget, among other sources.

The ten-year plan includes, in priority order:

• New schools (already funded and either open or under construction): Lyons Farm Elementary and Northern High
• New schools: Murray-Massenburg Elementary and Durham School of the Arts
• Comprehensive renovations: Bethesda Elementary, Club Blvd. Elementary, Glenn Elementary, Holt Elementary, Mangum Elementary, and Morehead Elementary, to provide additional permanent classroom seats for students to support the Growing Together initiative
• New school: C.E. Jordan High
• Comprehensive renovations: Eastway Elementary, Fayetteville St. Elementary, Hope Valley Elementary, Lakewood Elementary, Oak Grove Elementary, Parkwood Elementary, Pearsontown Elementary, and E.K. Powe Elementary
• Other renovations and system-wide improvements, including:
  • high school theater renovations
  • kitchen renovations
  • refitting the current Durham School of the Arts campus for Durham School of Technology, Ignite! Online Academy, and central administrative office space
  • refitting the current Northern High campus as a career-technical education training center
  • renovations to administrative buildings

As of fall 2022, the current projected cost of the ten-year prioritized capital improvement program is $944,488,572. Due to inflation and market conditions, the program cost is periodically reviewed and revised.

On July 11, 2022, the Durham County Board of Commissioners placed education bond referenda on the November 8 ballot to support Durham Public Schools as well as Durham Technical Community College and the Museum of Life and Science. The general obligation bonds for DPS would fund $423,505,000 of the ten-year plan.

Depending on inflation and market conditions, the prioritized projects would include:

• New schools: Murray-Massenburg Elementary and Durham School of the Arts
• Comprehensive renovations: Bethesda Elementary, Club Blvd. Elementary, Glenn Elementary, Holt Elementary, Mangum Elementary, and Morehead Elementary, to provide additional permanent classroom seats for students to support the Growing Together initiative