The Durham (N.C.) district is looking at finding a new home for its Durham School of the Arts.
The school is now housed in a 115-year-old facility that once was Durham High School. But the aging campus does not meet the needs of a 21st-century educational facility and is plagued with several problems, The Raleigh News & Observer reports.
One potential site for a new campus is a 58-acre tract the district bought from Duke University in 2011. If the school board decides to move the School of the Arts there, a new campus could be built by August 2025.
The existing campus consists of eight buildings that span three city blocks and carpool stacking routinely backs up traffic for several blocks. The school has 68 entry points and 69 staircases and ramps, which create safety concerns because of the difficulty controlling access to the school.
The school also does not have sufficiently sized classrooms and has problems handling storm-water run-off.
About 1,835 students from across Durham County are enrolled in grades six through 12 at the School of the Arts.
