Students at Durant Road Elementary start school year at temporary campus Abbotts Creek

WAKE COUNTY, N.C. (WTVD) -- Students and staff at Durant Road Elementary began the school year Thursday in a temporary location while structural repairs continue at their school building.

Students and employees reported to Abbotts Creek Elementary, located directly across the street from the Durant Road campus. Wake County Public School System officials said Durant Road is one of three schools undergoing repairs after engineers found portions of the buildings were not constructed according to approved plans.

According to the district, assessments found that certain walls and connections between walls and other building components were not aligned with approved construction plans.

At Durant Road Elementary, crews are reinforcing concrete block walls with rebar and grout, installing metal plates that connect masonry walls to the structural frame, and replacing some drywall with steel-backed panels.

The district said masonry work is 75% complete and the project remains on schedule. One parent expressed support for the repairs.

"I mean, things happen. They need to fix the school to make it better for the students and the teachers. I don't have any problem with that whatsoever."

However, some families experienced confusion on the first day at the temporary campus. Several parents arrived late Thursday morning, and one father said a transportation mix-up initially sent him toward a different school. Seedy Sanyang, a parent, said communication with families could have been better.

"I think they should have done a better job than notifying me. You know, these parents. So that they would know that they moved. You know, if I didn't make that choice of staying, trying to find out because of the confusion, it would have been worse. Because I would have gone to work and seen where they were. But I said, you know what? I'm not going to do that. I'm going to wait. I'm going to do it myself. I'm going to go and find out exactly what's going on. And I'm glad I did."

Wake County Public School System officials said they are looking into whether there was any miscommunication involving student transportation. The district said students and staff are expected to return to the Durant Road Elementary building no later than Aug. 17.

Officials also said repair work at the school remains on schedule, with masonry installation, wall reinforcements and interior improvements continuing in the coming weeks. Construction updates are available through Wake County Public School System communications.

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