{"id":4602,"date":"2026-07-14T12:07:03","date_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:07:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4602"},"modified":"2026-07-14T12:07:03","modified_gmt":"2026-07-14T12:07:03","slug":"3-wake-schools-deemed-unsafe-for-students-can-they-be-fixed-before-classes-start-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/durhammovinghub.com\/?p=4602","title":{"rendered":"3 Wake schools deemed unsafe for students. Can they be fixed before classes start?"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Emergency repairs will be made at three Wake County elementary schools that have been deemed unsafe for students due to settling and wall cracking issues on the campus.<\/p>\n

Read more NC just ended most parking requirements for developers. Here\u2019s what it could mean.<\/a><\/p>\n

In a special meeting on Monday, the Wake County school board authorized Superintendent Robert Taylor to enter into emergency construction contracts at Creech Road Elementary in Garner, Davis Drive Elementary in Cary and Durant Road Elementary in Raleigh.<\/p>\n

Administrators are drawing up contingency plans in case the buildings aren\u2019t ready for the start of the new school year, which is July 30 at Durant Road and Aug. 24 at the other two schools.<\/p>\n

Administrators didn\u2019t have a price tag for the repair work, saying estimates of the scope of the work are still being drawn up. But Wake will pay construction workers to be on the job 24\/7, which will increase the price tag.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe problem is that we need the repairs that we don\u2019t even know exactly what they are yet,\u201d school board attorney Rod Malone told the board on Monday. \u201cBut we need those repairs to start as soon as we can in order to get this work completed, or to have any chance of getting this work completed before school starts, and that\u2019s really what\u2019s driving today\u2019s meeting.\u201d<\/p>\n

Malone said he wants to have a closed-session discussion with the board about seeking potential legal claims over the construction work that resulted in the repairs needing to be made.<\/p>\n

All three schools date back to the 1990s and use the same prototype design.<\/p>\n

In a letter Friday to parents and staff, Creech Road Principal Ralph Chew said a recent engineering review by structural engineers identified a concern involving the construction of certain walls.<\/p>\n

\u201cSpecifically, the build of certain walls and connections between walls and other parts of our building were not aligned with what was called for in approved construction plans,\u201d Chew wrote.<\/p>\n

Davis Drive and Durant Road\u2019s principals also sent letters to staff and families on Friday.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur school is one [sic] the schools constructed using the same building plans,\u201d said the Davis Drive and Durant Road letters. \u201cAt this time, it appears some of the same concerns are present in our building structure, but we do not yet know the extent of these issues\u201d<\/p>\n

Structural engineers have been at all three campuses to assess conditions. This caused Creech Road and Davis Drive to relocate Read To Achieve camps to other schools and Durant Road to move its camp to its modular units.<\/p>\n

Read more Millie Bobby Brown Opens Up About Experiencing 3-Month Long Anxiety Attack<\/a><\/p>\n

Superintendent Robert Taylor said the problem of settling and cracks at Creech Road was first noticed in 2024. But he said engineers determined this spring the cracks had significantly advanced since then.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is not the normal cracking that you would see in any other place, and it\u2019s not the cracking that you see in your houses,\u201d said Malone, the board attorney. \u201cYou know, this is significant cracking for which the engineer said we can\u2019t occupy the building with kids without these repairs being made.\u201d<\/p>\n

Wake checked other schools that used the same design as Creech Road. David Burnett, assistant superintendent for facilities, design and construction, said engineers also determined Davis Drive and Durant Road are not safe to be occupied by students until repairs are made.<\/p>\n

School board chair Tyler Swanson said the district needs to have a discussion about checking on the condition other schools of similar age. School leaders have said not enough was spent on repairs and maintenance over the years due to the pressure to keep up with growth.<\/p>\n

The school board has asked the Wake County Board of Commissioners to put a $680 million school construction bond referendum<\/a> on the November ballot. Much of the money would go toward renovating schools.<\/p>\n

Creech Road is expected to require the most work of the three schools. Taylor said they\u2019re expecting a six-week time frame.<\/p>\n

While the repairs aren\u2019t as expected to take as long at Durant, the time frame is much shorter there due to the year-round school beginning classes in two weeks. Taylor said Durant has the \u201chighest priority.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe do want our community to know \u2014 both schools and parents and students \u2014 that this is an issue that we know we have to address immediately, particularly as relates to Durant,\u201d Taylor said. \u201cWe know that there are several different options that we\u2019re going to look at, and those are the things that we have to communicate not only to the parents but to the other schools that may be impacted by this particular decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

There was skepticism and concern about whether the work could be done in time for Durant.<\/p>\n

\u201cRealistically with Durant starting on 7\/30, there is no way that everything can be as neatly packaged and put together to meet the deadline for schools to come back,\u201d Swanson, the board chair, said.<\/p>\n

Read more More NC students are applying for federal student aid. Growth is highest in US<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published July 13, 2026 at 11:27 AM.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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