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High School Construction Standards <br />Background <br />5 <br />In September 1997, the Orange County Board of County Commissioners convened a High School <br />Construction Standards Task Force. This six - member task force included two representatives from the <br />Board of County Commissioners and two representatives from each of the two School Boards. <br />Orange County Board of County Commissioners Moses Carey <br />Stephen Halkiotis <br />Chapel Hill - Carrboro City School Board Elizabeth Carter <br />Ken Touw <br />Orange County School Board Susan Dovenbarger <br />Rick Kennedy <br />In developing standards for future high school construction in Orange County, the task force used North <br />Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) guidelines for a "typical high school "; space profiles for <br />East Chapel Hill High School; and information developed by Orange County Schools staff members. The <br />task force paid particular attention to: <br />• The ability to expand a new high school's capacity from 1,000 children to 1,500; <br />• Location of a new high school; <br />• Energy efficiency standards and day lighting; and, <br />• Cost control and construction management. <br />The task force agreed that the DPI guidelines were reasonable standards to use at the local level. <br />Appendices A and B include square footage standards as outlined by the State, modified to reflect local <br />needs as recommended by the task force. DPI guidelines are viewed by the State as minimum space <br />requirements, and in many functional areas, Orange County standards allow for more space to provide <br />greater flexibility to meet the educational specifications that will be developed for any new high school's <br />program of instruction. <br />Capacity <br />The capacity of the Orange County standard high school is 1,000 students with the ability to expand to <br />1,500 students in future years as necessary. <br />School Sites <br />The March 1998 North Carolina Public School Facilities Guidelines report recommends a high school site <br />have a minimum of thirty usable acres plus one usable acre per each 100 average daily membership <br />(students). The minimum school site for a 1,000 - student high school is forty acres, and for a 1,500 - <br />student high school, it is forty-five acres. <br />1 <br />