The repairs involve Durant Road Elementary School in Raleigh, Davis Drive Elementary School in Cary, and Creech Road Elementary School in Garner. District officials said the work raises questions about the start of the school year, particularly at Durant Road Elementary, where year-round students are scheduled to return on July 30. Creech Road Elementary and Davis Drive Elementary are set to start Aug. 24.
According to the district, engineering crews determined the structural issues are severe enough that the schools cannot be occupied until repairs are made. Assistant Superintendent David Burnett said during the board's emergency meeting that the problems involve "settling" at the three schools. The issue was first identified in 2024 but has worsened since then.
Wake County Public School System officials say the locations for those first days are now uncertain as engineers continue assessing damage.
District officials said engineering crews revisited the schools this year and determined repairs were necessary after finding structural cracking that exceeded normal wear and tear.
A Davis Drive Elementary parent, who asked not to be identified, said families received an email alerting them to a "facility issue" under investigation. The message noted that repair work would begin once engineers completed their review. "We're still working to identify issues and to develop a plan for necessary repairs," the email said.
Rod Malone, the attorney for the Wake County school board, said on Monday that the damage is unlike what is typically seen in buildings.
"This is very atypical; this is not the normal cracking you would see in any other place. It's not the cracking you would see in your houses; this is significant cracking. This is significant cracking to the point that the engineers said you cannot occupy these schools with kids without the repairs being made."
Structural concerns were first discovered at Creech Road Elementary in Garner. After further review, engineers identified Davis Drive and Durant Road as potentially having similar issues because the schools were built using a similar construction model.
Malone said engineers have determined the buildings cannot safely hold students until repairs are made.
"The engineers said you cannot occupy these schools with kids without the repairs being made," he said.
The district is scheduled to hold a closed meeting Wednesday to discuss contingency plans for the three schools because there is no firm timeline or cost estimate for the repairs. Board members said they have received feedback from contractors and expect to have pricing information and award bids later this week.
Although the board approved funding for the repairs, district officials said the short-term effects remain unclear as work continues and contingency plans are developed.
The uncertainty has left some parents anxious about what comes next. "I know they already have trailers at their school like this. There's so many kids in a school, I can't imagine like them adding more," the Davis Drive parent said. "So I think maybe sending them to a different school will be ideal."
That parent continued to tell ABC11 that she was unsure how serious the situation was until hearing the district's explanation.
"I was kind of confused, to be honest. I wasn't sure if this is a big deal or not," she said. "I'm not quite sure what this means for the elementary school."
Engineers are still assessing the full extent of the damage at Davis Drive and Durant Road. With the first day of school approaching, district officials have not said when repairs will begin or whether they will be finished in time.
The district has not released additional findings from Creech Road or Davis Drive.
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