By Philip Sean Curran, Staff Writer
Enrollment is growing across the Princeton school district such that officials are mulling short-term options that include renting space to accommodate students, even as district officials lay the groundwork for putting a facilities bond referendum on the ballot perhaps in early 2018.
Superintendent of Schools Stephen C. Cochrane said Tuesday that, based on data from this week, the district has 163 more students compared to around the same time as last year. That growth has been felt at all six schools, in a district now home to 3,700 students.
He disclosed that district officials are exploring short-term solutions to the space crunch, ones that the state Department of Education would have to approve so long as the remedies are temporary and the district has a long-term plan for “handling our space issues.”
“We’re looking at actually being able to rent space in other places, in nearby facilities, to move some of our classrooms,” he said. “We may have to look at trailers.”
He did not elaborate on what outside facilities the district had in mind or what schools and grades would be impacted.
The enrollment growth has been felt across Princeton, and will continue to be when some residential developments are fully occupied and families enroll their children in the school system.
Enrollment data as of Tuesday showed that John Witherspoon Middle School is up 50 students for a total of 765 students; Community Park Elementary School is up 38 for total of 361; Riverside Elementary School is up 25 for a total of 277.
Meanwhile, Princeton High School is up 18 students for a total of 1,594; Littlebrook Elementary School up nine for a total of 337; and Johnson Park Elementary School up 23 for a total of 366.
Mr. Cochrane outlined how, so far, three projects have contributed to that total: Princeton University’s Merwick-Stanworth has added 75 students, Copperwood 21 and AvalonBay 10. He told board members that he anticipates “that we will continue to see that increase as those units get filled at the various locations.”
Yet the enrollment growth has parents concerned, particularly about its impact on class sizes and what that means for the education children are receiving. One parent leader came to the board meeting looking for answers.
“If the numbers continue to rise, as they are, what are we going to do with the hundreds of students that will be added to the schools in 2017 and 2018?” Dina Shaw, a co-president of the John Witherspoon PTO, asked officials during the meeting. “And I can tell you as a parent of a ninth-grader, I’m hearing about how crowded it is. And it’s not making me sleep at night.”
Mr. Cochrane said the middle school has room to grow, so one option is to hire more teachers to reduce class sizes there. But he said the four elementary schools do not “have that many more classrooms in terms of places to expand.”
On a parallel track, officials are laying the groundwork for a bond referendum to present to voters, perhaps in March 2018. The scope of the referendum and the projects it would pay for have not been determined.
District business administrator Stephanie Kennedy walked board members through the steps that are involved for a referendum, including having the state Department of Education approve the plan. The district last had a referendum in 2012, for $10.9 million worth of projects, some of which are still being finished up, she said.
