Staff is recommending delaying the opening of H6 in order to fund the renovations for Wake Forest-Rolesville High School.

Supt. Del Burns said that the Monday infusion of $100 million from the county still leaves the school district short of all that is needed. He said that some projects will be delayed.

Burns said that the Wake Forest-Rolesville High renovations should remain the top priority and be kept on schedule. But that means the other big ticket item, H6, would be put on hold.

Speaking of H6, this may finally be the day that the high school gets a proper name.

The board is scheduled to vote today on a new batch of possible names for the school, located on Forestville Road near U.S. 401 in northeastern Wake. Administrators came up with new names after board members complained about the last set.

Staff is recommending Forest Ridge High. It was proposed because of the site’s topography, its long history as forested land, and its location along Forestville Road.

 UPDATE

The board adopted Forest Ridge High as the new name. 

The NAACP is now entering the fight over the H6 high school due to the potential slave cemetery on site.

Ronald White, 4th vice president of the state NAACP and president of the group’s South Central Wake branch, said he intends to mobilize people to lobby Raleigh and school leaders against going ahead with the project.

White is upset that the latest plan for preserving the cemetery, which may or may not contain the graves of slaves, has it located right by the main entrance of the school.

So are residents fighting H6 out to preserve the memories of those buried there or are they being opportunistic?

As noted in today's article, it depends on who you ask. Neighbors fighting the school say that H6 should be halted to preserve the possible slave and Native American graves there.

"We as humans, with our innate curiosity of the past, should at least take the time to examine what will be 'forever destroyed' if development moves forward as planned," said Save the Slaves in a press release.

The school board has decided not to make any change in the assignments for H6 in northeastern Wake.

But with funding to build H6 still uncertain, stay tuned.

"The money is not in our pocket yet," said Rosa Gill, chairwoman of the school board.

Do you think you can do a better job of naming schools than the school system?

On Thursday, the school board is scheduled to name E21, the new elementary school in Southeast Raleigh. The board will also hear suggestions for naming H6, the new high school in northeastern Wake.

There are some rules to consider.

Doubts are being cast on whether a slave cemetery exists on the site of H6, the new high school planned in northeast Wake County.

Neighbors say graves found on the site are from a slave cemetery so building the school would desecrate those who lie there. But a new report done for the school system says "we believe that the cemetery reflects the burial of Euro-American individuals."

The report from the South Carolina-based Chicora Foundation says the cemetery doesn't exhibit characteristics of an African American cemetery.

UPDATE

Go to end of post for link for report.