This week, four new schools opened in the district.
- Rex Road Elementary in Holly Springs
- Pleasant Plains Elementary in Apex
- Bowling Road Elementary in Fuquay-Varina
- Felton Grove High School in Apex
All four schools are in the Southern part of Wake County, with Felton Grove becoming the district's largest.
School Board Chair Chris Heagarty says that the district's effort to reduce overcrowding in schools has resulted in higher operational costs.
"What we found is, it's not just expensive to build the schools. It's expensive to operate those schools. And so that puts a real crunch on the district," he said.
The longtime school board member, Heagarty, knows the give and take that comes with addressing rapid growth in the public school system. With bond-funded new schools come rising costs, but he says state funding hasn't kept pace.
"We have to make tough choices between do we pay teachers and bus drivers and cafeteria workers to keep all of those positions filled, or do we cut costs on air conditioning and maintenance and some of those vital systems," Heagarty said.
Census data and WCPSS attendance help to tell the story. In 2010, Apex -- where two of the new schools that opened this week were built -- had a population of just of 37,000. By 2023, it had nearly doubled to over 72,000, with even more growth in the last two years.
"I get a number of calls from parents who are experiencing some of the challenges associated with the growth of Wake County and the school system," said Apex Mayor Jacques Gilbert. "So having felt Grove High School here does help."
According to WCPSS, there were roughly 153,000 students in attendance on average district-wide in 2013, a number which rose to roughly 162,000 in 2025 and is expected to climb to 170,000 by 2030.
Shane Taylor has a sophomore who was just reassigned to Felton Grove, and he's seen some of those growing pains firsthand.
"It's great to see the growth. I sometimes wish that we could get out ahead of it a little bit, you know, just a little more long-term planning," Taylor said.
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WCPSS says the population share in Wake County under the age of 18 is higher than in North Carolina or the US as a whole, meaning more growth could be coming. Heagarty said the district uses a 7-year plan to address those challenges, but they can only ask the County for so much money to help fill in funding gaps.
"Every new school we build, we're having to go back to the county to pay for more of those operating expenses because we don't get enough from the state to cover the cost of the salaries we need to pay in Wake County to keep our school staffed," he said.