Board not sure of school site

Chatham urges moving forward

PITTSBORO -- The Chatham County Board of Education says the 94 acres it owns in northeast Chatham may not be suitable for a new high school.

The site lacks water and sewer service, traffic in the area is already congested, and the environmental impact on the surrounding wetlands may be too great, the board says.

The school board presented its case to the county Board of Commissioners on Monday night during their first joint meeting of the year. The commissioners told the school board its plans need to be set in the next six to seven months because the fast-growing county needs the new school.

"There's no land in Chatham County that's perfect," Commissioner Patrick Barnes said. "You'll have to spend money to develop [any property] because Chatham County doesn't have a sewer system."

The November ballot was supposed to include a bond to help pay for the new high school, which is expected to hold 1,200 students.

But just before the election, the school board asked the commissioners to pay for the school with certificates of participation, which do not require taxpayers' approval. The commissioners voted against the plan.

So the school board asked the commissioners to hold off on the bond until they could mount a campaign for it.

With three new members, the commissioners have agreed to use certificates of participation. The question now is whether the location on Jack Bennett Road will work.

"We are working to identify alternative sites," School Board Chairman Norman Clark said.

But time is running out to have the school open, as projected, in fall 2011. The high school is needed to serve most of the 7,000 new homes approved to be built along U.S. 15-501. And Northwood High in Pittsboro is already over capacity.

Commissioner Mike Cross said sewer service should not be a problem for this site. Governors Club, a gated community with a golf course, agreed to treat the school's sewage and spray the effluent on its course, he said.

Barnes, who has made a living digging ditches for water lines, said a bulldozer can make any land ready for building. He urged the school board to get a soil test and draw up a building plan soon.

"Nothing's going to be settled until that's done," he said.