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The Wake County Republican Party is opposing the $829 million in bond referenda for the Wake County school system and Wake Technical Community College that are on the Nov. 3 ballot.
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Voters will decide on a $680 million bond referendum for the Wake school system and a $149.1 million bond referendum for Wake Tech. If both are approved, it would result in a half-cent increase in the property tax rate that would cost an additional $25 a year for a home assessed at $500,000.
“The Wake County Public Schools receives billions of dollars including 54% of public tax dollars, 60% of state funds and federal monies,” the Wake GOP said in a statement Friday sent to The News & Observer. “Time and again they have ignored basics like heating and cooling systems, even when given earmarks.
“WCPSS school board should take a harder look at its priorities and stop putting classrooms, teachers and students last. This bond is just another tax we urge a no vote on.”
The Wake GOP’s opposition doesn’t take away the need for the bonds, said Melanie Dubis, co-chair of the Friends of Wake County, the group formed by the business community to promote the Wake school bonds.
“The bond is still necessary,” Dubis said in an interview Friday with The N&O. “It’s still critical. It is still the best way to fund these critical needs.”
The Wake school bond is part of an $832.3 million construction program. It would fund three new schools, major renovations at nine schools and major projects at other schools, including fixing HVAC units and upgrading security systems.
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The Wake Tech bond would fund improvements and workforce training expansion throughout the system’s campuses.
School facilities are the legal responsibility of the county — not the state and federal governments — Dubis said.
“I think the county has been very strategic and very fiscally responsible in using bonds to fund new construction, and now we need to be focused on funding repairs and upkeep and refreshing our existing schools,” Dubis said,
The Wake GOP said it opposes all the bonds on the ballot. In addition to the two countywide bond items, there’s a $101.5 million Raleigh transportation bond, a $101.5 million Raleigh affordable housing bond and a $55 million Knightdale parks and recreation bond on the Nov. 3 ballot.
In contrast, the Wake County Democratic Party has endorsed all five county and local bond measures.
Wake County voters haven’t rejected a school bond referendum since 1999. But in 2024, voters rejected affordable housing and parks bonds in Cary in and a transportation bond in Zebulon.
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 5:10 PM.