aligned
Wake County, NC ballot

Wake County Community College Bonds

Wake County, North Carolina · November 3, 2026

$149.1 million in bonds to build, renovate, and equip Wake Technical Community College facilities, repaid with property taxes.

Full ballot text

Additional property taxes may be levied on property located in the County of Wake, North Carolina in an amount sufficient to pay the principal and interest on community college bonds if approved by the following ballot question. Shall the order adopted on July 6, 2026, authorizing $149,100,000 COMMUNITY COLLEGE BONDS of the County of Wake, North Carolina, plus interest, for the purpose of providing funds to construct, renovate, expand, improve and equip community college facilities for Wake Technical Community College, and providing that additional taxes may be levied in an amount sufficient to pay the principal of and interest on said bonds be approved, in light of the following: (1) The estimated cumulative cost over the life of said bonds, using the highest interest rate charged for similar debt over the last 20 years, would be $228,767,016, consisting of the $149,100,000 principal amount of said bonds plus $79,667,016 of estimated interest. (2) The estimated amount of property tax liability increase for each one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000) of property tax value to service the cumulative cost over the life of said bonds would be $0.90 (90 cents) per year.

What it does

This authorizes Wake County to borrow $149.1 million to build, renovate, expand, and equip facilities for Wake Technical Community College, repaid with property taxes. The ballot's required estimate puts the total cost at about $229 million with interest at the highest rate of the last 20 years, and the tax increase at 90 cents a year per $100,000 of property value. If it fails, the projects would need other funding or be delayed.

How it lines up with you

Loading your answers…

Dossier

Researched 2026-09-23 · Claude Code research agent with web search

A yes vote authorizes Wake County to borrow $149.1 million in general obligation bonds for Wake Technical Community College to expand workforce-training programs (automotive, welding, health care, fire and rescue) and renovate aging facilities, repaid through a small property tax increase; a no vote blocks the borrowing. Commissioners placed the measure on the ballot the same day as the companion school bond, July 6, 2026; the Wake Tech Forward committee supports it, while the AgainstTheBonds.com Committee is registered in opposition.

For
Against
  • AgainstTheBonds.com Committee source

What it does

"Yes" lets Wake County borrow $149.1 million for Wake Technical Community College -- the "2026 Workforce Forward Bond" -- repaid by property tax; "no" blocks it (Wake Tech). Plans: $41 million for workforce-program expansion (finishing a Fire and Rescue Training Center, skilled-trades labs, automotive and dental-hygiene upgrades), $65 million for Southern Wake Campus renewal, and $43.1 million collegewide for HVAC, elevators, and technology (Wake Tech). With the companion school bond, the county estimates a half-cent tax rise (about $22.50/year on a $450,000 home) from fiscal 2028; the ballot's own estimate is $0.90/year per $100,000 of value and $228,767,016 total cost with interest (Holly Springs Update).

Why it's on the ballot

Commissioners adopted this bond order the same day as the schools bond, July 6, 2026; hearings drew no speakers or written comments (Holly Springs Update). Wake Tech says demand is outpacing capacity, citing a 100-student waitlist at its Hendrick Automotive Center (Citizen Portal, via search result). State law requires only a simple majority to pass (N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 159-61).

Who supports it and why

"Wake Tech Forward" is listed as an active 2026 Wake County referendum committee (Wake County committees); beyond the college's own materials, we found no separate campaign site detailing its arguments.

Who opposes it and why

"AgainstTheBonds.com Committee," also registered against the companion school bond, is an active 2026 referendum committee (Wake County committees). It has previously argued large Wake bond packages add too much per-resident debt; its current 2026 content did not load for us to confirm this year's message (search result).

Money

Both committees must file campaign-finance reports with the NC State Board of Elections; we could not pull itemized totals, since NCSBE's database (cf.ncsbe.gov) requires an interactive search rather than a fetchable page (Wake County committees).

What to watch

This request is smaller than Wake Tech's last two bonds -- $349 million in 2018 and $353 million in 2022 (about 70% approval) -- most of which built the new Western Wake/Apex campus (Wake County; WRAL). The ballot's state-required interest disclosure and the county's simpler "half a cent" framing describe the same debt differently (N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 159-55.1).

What we couldn't find

Ballotpedia's page for this measure blocked automated retrieval. We could not confirm AgainstTheBonds.com's current 2026 content, itemized campaign-finance totals, or a recorded vote count for commissioners' July 6 vote.

Sources (9)