(Posted Nov. 7, 2018)
By Kristy Zurbrick, Madison Editor
London City Schools leaders are predicting a modest 1.4 percent growth in student enrollment over the next five years.
Superintendent Dr. Lou Kramer noted the projection is conservative. That number will go up if more new housing comes to the area and more students open enroll into the district. Enrollment grew 5.7 percent over the past five years.
The district published its first enrollment projection in March and plans to update it each November. The data will help the district make decisions about staffing, use of instructional space, and how to retain and attract students. The state of Ohio funds schools on a per-student basis. For the most part, that means school districts with positive enrollment trends can expect more state funding.
Kramer presented the update at the school board’s Nov. 6 meeting. The March report projected an overall enrollment of 2,169 students for this school year. The actual number–2,172 students–nearly matched that projection. At the building level, the elementary school enrolled 20 fewer students than projected, due in part to a lower number of kindergarten enrollees. The middle school numbers came within one student of the projections. The high school saw an increase of 24 students over the projections.
Looking ahead, Kramer said new housing will be a factor. Miranda Homes is building the first of a three-stage housing development on the city’s northeast side. The development will include 149 homes with about 50 homes being built with each phase. According to city and Chamber of Commerce officials, another developer plans to build 55 one- to three-bedroom townhomes off of Keny Boulevard. As a result, it is anticipated that 50 new homes and 50 new townhomes will be available for occupancy at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
Open enrollment also has had an impact. A few years ago, more students were open enrolling out of the district than into it. Now, the opposite is true. This year, 127 students open enrolled into the district and 101 open enrolled out of the district. Projections show this trend continuing.
