The North Carolina State Board of Education received a report and presentation this week that asked school districts to tally what they need for school building construction and renovations in the next five years.
The cost it would take to meet all of the facility needs across North Carolina's public schools has grown to nearly $18 billion, up by nearly $5 billion since the last report was done five years ago.
This survey was conducted during the 2025-2026 school year. Districts self-report their construction plans for new schools, as well as renovations and additions for existing schools. The cost of renovations ballooned the most, up by 76%.
"I'll just point out that two thirds of the buildings in the state, as reported here, are older than 30 years of age," said Nathan Maune, director of the Office of School Facilities at the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction.
About half of the projected need is for deferred maintenance.
The board's vice chair Alan Duncan said he worries there isn't enough funding available to make a dent in the current estimation of $18 billion.
"I'm a very optimistic person, but I don't see us cutting into that number, and I think it's going to go up a lot more during the next five years, particularly at these construction costs," Duncan said.
The baseline cost for new construction of school buildings has risen from an average of $138 per square foot in 2011 to $350 per square foot in 2026.
In the past five years, state funds provided $2.8 billion for facility needs, and eight counties passed local school bonds totaling $5.88 billion. But Duncan noted that doesn't come close to the $13 billion in need that was estimated during the last five-year cycle.
"So that's 92 counties that have not (passed a bond) either because they don't have the wherewithal — which is true for most of those counties — or the will, which is probably true for a very few of those counties, and so there is a real issue in terms of where the money is going to come from," Duncan said.
Just this week, Wake County voters passed a $680 million school bond, and that is not reflected in the report. Duncan said he's concerned a new constitutional amendment limiting property tax increases could prevent counties from pursuing future local bonds because financing a bond requires property taxes.
North Carolina has not passed a statewide school facilities bond since 1996.
