The overcrowding problem confronting Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools has reached its tipping point, and the school board is trying to fix it sooner rather than later with a new elementary school in the Northside neighborhood. In order for this to happen, Orange County commissioners should put an end to their foot-dragging and accept the school board’s loan to accelerate the construction of the county’s newest elementary school, Elementary 11.
For the 2011-12 school year, 5,440 elementary school students were enrolled in the school district. The district already has multiple schools cramming too many students into small classrooms, and overcrowding could easily increase over the next year and cause serious problems for the district and community.
Under the proposed plan, the school board would loan $3.1 million to the county in order for the school to be opened in 2013 rather than 2014. However, the county has expressed concerns that this loan could push its debt services above the limit of 15 percent of the general fund expenditures. This concern is well founded, but the long-term consequences will likely outweigh any budget problems that come with the loan.
If the district reaches 5,506 students, which would put the school system at 105 percent capacity, the county would be forced to freeze residential development in the area as required by the Schools Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance.
The county should recognize the long-term financial implications if it doesn’t allow for construction of a new elementary school ahead of schedule.
There are also long-term effects that students could face from an overcrowded school. A student’s learning environment should not be cramped and chaotic. If there are too many students in a classroom, the teacher cannot provide the proper attention to every student’s academic needs. If Orange County wants students to contribute to society as adults, it should invest in students’ educations.
This plan may prove preemptive, but extra space from an additional school will be preferred to the extra students in current schools.
The school board should consider all possible proposals to speed up the opening of Elementary 11 in order to relieve this overcrowding problem.
This is not a problem the district alone should be worrying about. Orange County should make it a priority to construct the necessary facilities so that every child may receive a proper education.
