Growth increases local schools' needs

If you build it, they will come. And when they come, you have to build again.

The same residents flocking to Chapel Hill and Carrboro to enroll in its top-rated schools create pressure on the district to build more.

Environmentally friendly policies, mass transportation, proximity to job hubs and most importantly, the public school systems attract potential residents.

“It’s a desirable place to live primarily because of both of the school systems that we have that are not overcrowded and the mind-set that Orange County has,” Orange County Planning Director Craig Benedict said.

From 2000 to 2006 Chapel Hill’s population increased by about 16 percent while Carrboro grew by about 11 percent.

Since most growth is residential, developments bring new families with children to enroll in school. An influx of students means there is less room for everyone to operate comfortably within the building.

To combat overpopulation and inadequate services, state standards determine how many students can fill a school before a new facility is needed. When the school’s population surpasses the established capacity by about 6 percent, the district must build a new one, said Stephanie Knott, assistant to the superintendent for community relations.

“We have to build the new schools. It doesn’t matter either way. When the numbers say so, we have to build a new school,” Knott said.

From 2000 to 2006 the district grew by about 12.5 percent and has since increased by 364 students for a total of 11,430 students enrolled for the 2007-08 school year.

“You stretch the school infrastructure,” said Steve Scroggs, assistant superintendent of support services for the Chapel Hill-Carrboro City School District.

“Classrooms aren’t overcrowded. It’s the cafeteria, the library, the gym – what we call core spaces – that fill up.”

According to the district’s February update on facility needs and alternatives, in less than 10 years there will be a demand for a new high school, new middle school and two new elementary schools.

New schools will have to be built to satisfy the state’s mandate when they reach these benchmarks.

The district opened Carrboro High School this past fall and will open Morris Grove Elementary School in August. But School Board Vice Chairwoman Lisa Stuckey said the district estimates a need for an eleventh elementary school by the fall of 2010.

“No. 11 needs to open quickly because the state has reduced class size over the years of K through three so fewer students can be housed in the same number of classrooms,” Stuckey said.

“That decision by the legislature costs us about half an elementary school.”

She said the new capacity policy was phased in over the years through Orange County’s Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance, which paces school construction with population growth. The ordinance is an agreement between Carrboro, Chapel Hill and Orange County that residential development will be synchronized with available capacity of schools.

When a new development is proposed for the county, it must receive a Certification of Adequate Public Schools before it gets the go-ahead.

When the ordinance first went into effect in July 2003, officials used the average of five projection models to estimate the number of students.

Benedict said sometimes their one-year projections are within 10 students in an elementary school population of 3,000.

“But we think the most important projection time frame is five to seven years,” Benedict said, adding that gives the county enough time to make land purchases and complete construction in time to open a school within about five years.

About 48 percent of the county budget helps fund both of its school districts, Orange County Schools and Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools. Between two-thirds to three-quarters of voter-approved bonds also are funneled to schools.

Because the county pays for half of the cost for a new school with almost half of its capital budget, development plans are often impeded, Knott said.

Building new facilities affects tax-paying residents because the county must make up for incurred debt, but Scroggs said it is essential in keeping the school system up to par with its reputation while dealing with the population growth.

“I think educating kids in an appropriate-sized facility is so important,” he said.

“We have some of the best school systems in the country, and they’re the economic engine that drives the community.”

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.