The overall building costs amounted to $1 million, making it the largest school construction project in the state at the time.

[7] By the late 1960s it possessed a higher percentage of teachers with graduate degrees than any of Raleigh's three white schools.

[9] In the late 1970s, officials considered closing the school, but this was met with opposition from alumni and Ligon continued to operate.

[6] In 1982, Ligon was formally consolidated into the new Wake County Public School System and became involved in the Magnet Program.

[11] In the early 2000s, the school underwent major renovations and expansions, including the construction of new hallways, a baseball field, and additional classrooms.

In addition, students' differences in income and class are shown by the 24% of the school which gets reduced price or free lunches.

Many electives involve students in running the school, such as technical theater, yearbook, and LTV (Ligon Television).