Durham’s Arts School Downtown Campus Closure Could Be Approved This Week

Alums and families devoted to the downtown campus of Durham School of the Arts may see the Durham Public Schools Board of Education make a final decision on its closure on Thursday.

The board has called a special meeting for 4:30 p.m. on Aug. 1 for a presentation of the DSA school closure study, which would be followed by a public hearing about the study “prior to taking action on whether to close a school,” according to the agenda.

What’s In the Closure Study?

The main findings of the study included a fiscal analysis that determined building a new campus – currently slated for the Duke Homestead site in North Durham, about 2.2 miles away – would cost about $213.5 million, while renovating the existing school site would cost more than $269 million.

“Future use of the existing facility at 400 North Duke Street will be considered as DPS completes the 2024-25 comprehensive update to the Facility Master Plan – inclusive of both learning environments and administrative space profiles,” the study states.

Other factors mentioned in the study:

• Geographic conditions: DSA student assignments are determined by a 100% non-geographic lottery for sixth through 12^th graders.
• School bus transportation: Currently, 28 buses operate each day, carrying 529 students to and from school, with ride times between 40 and 60 minutes. “Relocating Durham School of the Arts to the new school site may result in shorter ride times and distance traveled for students given decreases in AM/PM Central Business District traffic and associated congestion and safety constraints.”
• Car riders: More than 1,000 students arrive and depart via passenger vehicle on a daily basis. However, the current site has car queuing storage for about 13 vehicles (excluding the loading/unloading area). North Carolina Department of Transportation standards recommend storage for 137 vehicles on a typical day and 179 vehicles on high-demand days. “The on-campus passenger vehicle storage deficit is 166 vehicles for high-demand days, such as early release and/or inclement weather. This shortage of vehicle storage generates unsafe arrival and dismissal conditions as parents and caregivers who drive students often unload and load students in moving traffic on Business 15-501 and at surrounding institutions like churches and congregations where there is insufficient infrastructure to safely support student travel.”
• Walk/bike: The 400 North Duke Street location has a connected sidewalk network. The relocation site along Stadium Drive is served by the Ellerbee Creek Trail, a regional connection for pedestrians and cyclists.
• City bus: DSA ranks 13^th out of Durham’s 16 middle and high schools in terms of Durham Youth GoPass distributed in 2020 (69 passes issued). Southpoint Access has reached out to DPS and the City of Durham for the number of passes issued in 2022 and 2023, after the pandemic lockdowns ended and remote students went back to school.

Can the Old Campus Be Modernized and Expanded?

The school district founded Durham School of the Arts in 1995, but its campus, infrastructure, and facilities were inherited from older academic facilities on the site.

The current DSA campus consists of eight buildings:

• Main building.
• Middle school building.
• Academic building.
• Auditorium.
• Black box theater.
• Gymnasium.
• Library.
• Transition ‘T’ building.

It’s got a track, soccer field, and three parking lots.

Existing facilities, according to the study, are lacking when it comes to infrastructure, compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, traffic congestion management, safety issues, and programmatic space needs.

“Current space deficits include 17 core curriculum classrooms that are undersized and do not comply with current programmatic standards,” the closure study states. “Visual and performing arts curriculum spaces, specialized learning classrooms, and shared spaces are challenged by existing square footage, floor-to-floor heights, technology, infrastructure, and limited space availability to address the space program required to meet the curriculum and instructional need on campus. The existing black box theater, main stage theater, and gymnasium spaces for both middle school and high school are all undersized and do not meet programmatic needs that are provided at other campuses within the district. Facilities such as the school cafeteria and kitchen, mechanical, electrical, and lighting are all in urgent and imminent need of significant improvements.”

The study indicates that modernizing the existing campus would require phasing, sound and traffic mitigation, and safety measures to allow it to remain open during renovations. District officials expect that will take seven years to complete.

“In the event the Board of Education takes action to close Durham School of the Arts, the students currently enrolled at the school will be relocated to a new school site,” the study states. “The existing campus site at 400 North Duke Street will be retained by the district and studied for use by other programs within the district.”

The current campus wouldn’t close until the new facility is finished, according to Crystal Roberts with DPS Office of Public Affairs.