A projected 2,000 new residences could go up within School District 300’s boundaries in the next five to 10 years, district officials said.
The potential for new homes could alter the use of 60 underutilized classrooms in K-5, as well as class sizes, which have been below cap limits despite modest enrollment growth.
School District 300’s K-12 enrollment over the past five years has increased by 170 students to 21,067, district officials said at an Oct. 24 meeting. The Algonquin-based district is the sixth largest in the state.
“In comparison to other school districts, we continue to see an increase in enrollment,” said Chief Financial Officer Susan Harkin. The presentation from Harkin, as part of Superintendent Fred Heid’s report to the board, compared enrollment data from this fall to that of five years ago.
While enrollment is up overall, it has dropped in the K-5 grades by more than 200 students in the last five years, according to the presentation. It has meant the average class size in those grades is just under 22, while the cap for K-2 is 26, Harkin said.
Classroom additions and the enrollment dip have opened up 60 rooms in elementary schools. Harkin said most of this space is being used for instruction intervention, students with specialized needs, STEM/art space, and full-day preschool programs.
That space situation could change with the building of up to 2,000 new residences in the two-county district, she said.
“If we had to pull those back, we do have classroom space,” Harkin said. “But it would make it more difficult for those services being provided.”
For instance, Harkin said recent additions at Wright and Gilberts elementary schools in Hampshire and Gilberts, respectively, offered a reprieve from overcrowding but all their classrooms could be filled within a half decade.
A demographics study is in the works and would better address future enrollment growth, she said.
In the middle schools, enrollment is up 160 students from five years ago, and high school enrollment is up 376 students in that period.
The average class size in the secondary grades is over 28, although Harkin said calculating class sizes in middle school and high school is different than in elementary school.
