wake county

This week, the News & Observer ran a piece titled, “Self-storage developers eye prime real estate in Wake.”  My first thought was that this sounded like good news.  Developers…

In a previous Update I discussed two North Carolina redistricting cases—Harris v. McCrory and Covington v. North Carolina—both from the US District Court for North Carolina’s Middle…

Click here to view and here to listen to Dr. Michael Sanera discussing this Policy Report. RALEIGH — Wake County commissioners should be wary of their environmental sustainability…

This Regional Brief critiques the process used by the Wake County Sustainability Task Force and its final report. The author was a member of the task force.

The draft Wake County Transit Plan, released in November 2011, proposes a doubling of bus service, new commuter rail service between East Garner and Durham, and light rail service between Cary and northeast Raleigh. The expanded service is proposed to be funded by a 1⁄2-cent sales tax, a $10 increase in vehicle registration fees, increased vehicle rental fees, transit bonds, state and federal funds, and rider fares. The estimated cost of the expanded bus and commuter rail plan is $2.8 B, and the full plan (including light rail) $4.6 billion through 2040.

What follows is the minority report I submitted to the Wake County Citizens’ Facilities Advisory Committee on Thursday, September 13, 2007. Although I am a member of that committee, the chairs of the committee, John Mabe and Billie Redmond, denied my request to have this report included with the final committee report.

RALEIGH – A Wake County school facilities study group has ignored research data that could help taxpayers save millions of dollars while building new schools more efficiently. The John Locke…

RALEIGH – The Wake County Public School System has missed the mark in developing its $1.056 billion school facilities spending plan. That’s the conclusion of a new John Locke Foundation…

The most critical challenge facing Wake County Public Schools is to find the most responsive, cost-efficient, and timely way to provide seats for a growing student population. In this regard, the school system’s proposed $1.056 billion school facilities spending plan falls short.

Contrary to the claims of school officials and community leaders in Wake County, students do not necessarily perform better in schools that have fewer mobile units or temporary classrooms, more square feet per student, and more acreage. This finding is consistent with national and international research that found no consistent relationship between school facilities and learning. The Wake County Public School System can scale back their multi-billion construction and renovation plans without harm to student learning.