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Introduction <br />The purpose of this report is to provide an update on the status of high school <br />no. 3 and the efforts the Board has undertaken to make it one of the top high <br />schools in the country, both academically, physically and environmentally, This <br />will be the first high school built under the Board's rigorous environmental <br />policy for high performance schools, Policy 9040. We would encourage the <br />reader to visit www.chccs.lQ2.nc.us to explore one of the nation s most <br />progressive building policies, <br />A Brief History <br />High school no. 3 has been in the development stage since 2001 and is projected <br />to open in August 2007. This new high school will relieve the overcrowding <br />currently experienced at Chapel Hill High School and East Chapel Hill High <br />School. Presently both high schools are 385 students over capacity and 22 mobile <br />units are provided for the additional student membership. <br />After a lengthy site selection process, the site on Rock Haven Road was <br />designated for the new high schooh The Board was adamant that the school be <br />built near where the students live, and with two high schools in the north, a <br />southern location was preferred, The Board selected this site, in part, to reduce <br />travel time for cars and buses, and to encourage wall<ers and bike riders. While <br />the initial cost of the site was substantially greater than the Twin Creeks site to <br />the North, the advantages over time clearly outweighed the first time cost factor, <br />A community committee was selected and convened in September 2003 to guide <br />the design process, The committee included parents, students, teachers, <br />principals, neighborhood representatives, elected officials and staff members <br />from Orange County and the Town of Carrboro, The Town of Carrboro was ably <br />represented by Patricia McGuire and Diana McDuffie. The committee worked <br />throughout the year examining the program, the amenities and the "feel" of the <br />new high school, They approved the concept plan in May of 2004 and that plan <br />was presented to the Board of Education for approval in September 2004, The <br />architects then undertook the task of preparing the plans for final submission to <br />the Town of Carrboro, An earlier presentation to the Board of Aldermen was <br />made on June 8, 2004 to keep the Aldermen informed of the design process, <br />Initial conversations concerning a conditional use permit were held with <br />Carrboro in 2003 before the formal submission was made in January 2004, <br />