While current enrollment figures in the WW-P School District show a higher number of students than projected by long-term estimates, officials say they will maintain a flat level of staffing this year in the local schools.
The plan is to shift staff among grade levels to accommodate growth and decreases in specific areas. This will be done to maintain adequate class sizes — at concern that residents recently identified in community forums as their number one priority .
According to David Aderhold, assistant superintendent for pupil services and planning, there are 9,842 students enrolled in the WW-P school district in the 2010-’11 school year, up from 9,821 students in the 2009-’10 school year.
Projections estimate that the student population will remain flat at 9,847 in 2011-’12, according to figures Aderhold presented during budget discussions on March 8.
However, long-term demographics projected district enrollment would peak in 2009-’10, with 9,725 estimated students. That puts the district at a slightly higher number than anticipated, said Aderhold.
“The general message with enrollment is we’re trying to find the right balance within grade levels and the consistency of staffing at grade levels, while, at the same time, maintaining a flat staff projection,” said Aderhold.
That is why studying enrollment is important to budget discussions, Aderhold said, as 80 percent of the budget is staff, and class size is a contributing factor in providing a quality education.
Aderhold said the district is seeing changes with regard to residnetial developments being built within the two communities. He pointed to Princeton Terrace at West Windsor, which is currently under construction on Clarksville Road in West Windsor.
When completed, the development will include 69 two- and three-bedroom affordable apartments, 35 of which will be set aside for low-income households and the balance of which will accommodate moderate-income households. As a result of the development, there will begin to be a spike in enrollment at some schools including at Dutch Neck, Grover, and High School South.
Despite these increases, the enrollment in various schools around the district will fluctuate for the next school year. For example, enrollment at Millstone River will see a decrease from 881 to 840, while Grover’s enrollment will decrease from 1,106 to 1,085. At Community, the enrollment is expected to drop from 1,229 to 1,180.
At High School North, however, this year’s senior class will graduate 361 students, but next year’s incoming freshman class is estimated to contain 468 students. Overall, North’s student population will rise from 1,595 to 1,670, while Dutch Neck, Maurice Hawk, and Wicoff will see slightly higher enrollment figures.
Within those figures, Aderhold described staff shifting at various grade levels, which will allow the district to maneuver to accommodate the growth and declines in population in certain areas.
For example, at Millstone River, a projected decline in the fourth grade (from 419 students to 393 students next year), will allow for the reduction of one teacher, who can be moved to offset an increase in another area.
“We will recommend some shifting,” Aderhold told the board. At the lower levels, “depending on what happens with development, once we start hitting class sizes of 23, 24 [students], we really need to take a hard look at increasing staff.”
The average class size for kindergarten is between 18 and 22. In grades 1 through 3, the average class size is between 22 and 25 students. In grades 4 and 5, the class sizes average between 23 and 27 students. At both the middle school and high school levels, class sizes average between 24 and 26 students.
Aderhold also said district officials face a challenge in their estimates because kindergarten and pre-school enrollment estimates, which are a “guestimate” every year because of the time period in which enrollment begins.
Officials will need to also monitor the impact the Princeton International Academy Charter School will have on various grade levels, as well as the economic uncertainties and new residential developments that will have an impact on student population in the future, said Aderhold.
