Chatham schools stuffed

PITTSBORO -- Chatham County's schools are growing by 110 to 120 new students a year, and, if nothing changes, high schools will be 700 students over capacity within five years, according to consultants.

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners and the Chatham County Board of Education heard a presentation Monday night by N.C. State University researchers who are helping them figure out where new schools are needed most.

According to Jeff Tsai and Michael Miller of the university's Operations Research Education Lab, the greatest growth is occurring in Pittsboro, Siler City and northeastern Chatham County

The school board asked the commissioners to do everything they can to get the the money to build a new middle school and a new high school.

"We need both schools yesterday," school board Chairman Norman Clark said.

Commissioners are pushing for a 1 percent land transfer tax. Bills have been filed in the state House and Senate that would allow Chatham to levy the tax. It would apply to any real estate sold in the county, and could help build schools and water and sewer systems across the county.

A new high school is tentatively slated to be built on 94 acres on Jack Bennett Road in northeast Chatham. But some worry the site is unsuitable because of a lack of water and sewer service, traffic congestion and poor soil quality. A soil study is due back next week.

If those plans fall through, the board will have to choose between finding another site or expanding Northwood High in Pittsboro.

Some residents say choosing a new site would waste time and money, and that Northwood is already too large and outdated to expand.

Kenton Jenkins, a resident of northeastern Chatham, said he would like to see a new high school on the Jack Bennett site and thinks the county needs to rearrange its priorities to give more money to the schools. That could include putting off plans for a new library.

"This is a reality check," he said, of the NCSU presentation. "This is the growth. How are we going to deal with it?"

Jenkins is PTA president of North Chatham Elementary, where his daughter is a third-grader. The school is so crowded the students must use the bathroom on a strict schedule and start lunch times at 9:20 a.m., he said. Northwood High still has only a dirt track and can't hold regional track meets.

"There's something wrong with that," Jenkins said.