The district has determined the school's campus has reached a point where basic repairs aren't enough.
According to the Wake County Public School System, Ligon's heating system is 24 years old, the fire detection system is outdated, and 28 out of 32 classrooms do not meet district space requirements.
At a community meeting Monday night, alumni and parents asked for other options that honor the past and make way for the future.
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" I don't want y'all to tear the school down. I know it needs to be up to par, but this school has such strong historical roots," said an alumnus.
But other alumni had other viewpoints.
"You don't want to be in a building that's not safe for kids to learn in. And as a taxpayer, I want the tax money to be spent in the most feasible way," said Avery Costin.
He's a member of the 1971 graduating class of Ligon and grew up three blocks from the school. Ligon was built in 1953, becoming Raleigh's all-black high school. The school was later integrated and converted to a middle school in 1973. Then, in 1982, the middle school became a magnet program.
"The legacy remains with the people, not a building. It could be anywhere," said Costin. "You think about the students that come. You want them to have the best facilities."
At Monday's meeting, WCPSS Superintendent Dr Robert Taylor laid out the current options on how to improve the school's campus.
Option 1: Renovate the existing building for $102 million with an estimated four-year time frame.
Option 2: Rebuild on the existing school site for $147 million. That project could take five years to complete.
Option 3: Rebuild the school's ballfields for $121 million with an estimated three-year completion date.
"We recognize that somebody is going to be unhappy with whatever decision that we make, but we really want to make our No. 1 priority our students that we serve," said Taylor.
Students will be affected no matter what. Options 1 and 2 require students to move to mobile classrooms. Option 3 allows students to remain in the existing building while construction takes place.
Mobile classrooms, whether on the school site or at another location, will cost the district $26 million.
"I think most parents that are here now, they're concerned about the continuity of a program and what a renovation or a new construction on this site would do for the current program," said Taylor. "You've heard those that said tonight they like the idea of an option three because it doesn't disrupt the current program. But I've had other parents also say we've got to think about how we preserve history. And so it is a tough draw for them."
The school board is expected to vote on the recommendation at its March meeting.