Wake County School Bonds

Wake County, North Carolina · November 3, 2026

$680 million in bonds to build, renovate, and equip Wake County public schools, 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 school bonds if approved by the following ballot question. Shall the order adopted on July 6, 2026, authorizing $680,000,000 SCHOOL BONDS of the County of Wake, North Carolina, plus interest, for the purpose of providing funds to construct, renovate, expand, improve and equip school buildings and other school facilities for the Wake County Public School System, 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 $1,043,387,458, consisting of the $680,000,000 principal amount of said bonds plus $363,387,458 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 $4.10 per year.

What it does

This authorizes Wake County to borrow $680 million to build, renovate, expand, and equip public school buildings, repaid with property taxes. The ballot's required estimate puts the total cost at about $1.04 billion with interest at the highest rate of the last 20 years, and the tax increase at $4.10 a year per $100,000 of property value. If it fails, the county would need other funding or would delay the projects.

How it lines up with you

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Dossier

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

A yes vote authorizes Wake County to borrow $680 million in general obligation bonds to build three new elementary schools, renovate and upgrade dozens of existing schools, and reduce reliance on mobile classrooms, repaid through a projected half-cent property tax increase; a no vote blocks the borrowing. The Wake County Board of Commissioners placed the measure on the ballot on July 6, 2026; the committee Friends of Wake County (Vote Yes Wake Schools) supports it, while the AgainstTheBonds.com Committee is registered in opposition.

For

Friends of Wake County (Vote Yes Wake Schools campaign) source

Against

AgainstTheBonds.com Committee source

What it does

"Yes" lets Wake County borrow $680 million for school construction, renovation, and equipment, repaid by property tax; "no" blocks it (WCPSS). Plans: 3 new elementary schools (Marshburn Road, Poole Road, Little Creek) and renovations at 8 schools including Athens Drive, Cary, and East Wake high schools (Yahoo News), plus HVAC/security/elevator upgrades at about 77 schools, cutting reliance on about 943 mobile classrooms (WCPSS). With the companion Wake Tech 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 $4.10/year per $100,000 of value and $1,043,387,458 total cost with interest (Holly Springs Update).

Why it's on the ballot

Commissioners adopted the bond order July 6, 2026, setting the Nov. 3 vote; hearings drew no speakers or written comments (Holly Springs Update). They had weighed an $800-900 million combined ask before scaling back (WRAL). WCPSS cites aging HVAC systems, growth, and mobile-classroom reduction as the need (WCPSS); state law requires a simple majority to pass (N.C. Gen. Stat. Section 159-61).

Who supports it and why

"Friends of Wake County," the registered committee behind the Vote Yes Wake Schools campaign, cites classroom heating/cooling problems, growth capacity, and school safety (Vote Yes Wake Schools; Wake County committees).

Who opposes it and why

"AgainstTheBonds.com Committee" is an active 2026 Wake County 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

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). The state separately approved $704 million in short-term notes in August 2025 for specific school projects already underway (N.C. Treasurer). Prior bonds passed comfortably: $530.7 million in 2022 (about 71%), $548 million in 2018, and $810 million in 2013 (Wake County; Wake County).

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 (12)