Enrollment boom in Menlo Park schools Enrollment boom in Menlo Park schools (November 09, 2005)

** District faces challenge of nearly 500 more students by 2015.

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Enrollment increases of 21 percent in the next 10 years in the Menlo Park City School District could trigger a major building program in the near future at the district's four schools.

Enrollment is projected to grow from 2,134 students this year to 2,580 in 10 years, based on a consultant's demographic report presented to the school board at a study session October 25.

That increase of 446 students compares with a growth of 239 students, or 13 percent, in the previous 10 years.

Such factors as new housing, younger families moving into resold houses, and the schools operating near capacity are forcing the district to look at the need for new facilities.

"Growing enrollment is a pressing issue for the district," said Superintendent Ken Ranella.

The trends present a series of challenges that affect school facilities, the educational program, staffing, and finances.

The district faces the potential need for 16 new classrooms by 2015 to accommodate close to 500 additional students. The dilemma is how to add the new classrooms to already crowded sites.

Further compounding the facility problem is a strong desire on the part of parents and administrators to replace 43 temporary portable classrooms now being used at the four sites with permanent buildings, said Mr. Ranella.

"We're going to take one step at a time and begin talks with the community," said Superintendent Ranella.

He is scheduling a series of meetings now through mid-December with school faculties, parent-teacher organizations and the community.
Trends

At the October 25 study session, consultant Tom Williams of Enrollment Projection Consultants in San Mateo provided an array of statistical information as to why the district is experiencing steady growth, but cautioned that his kindergarten estimates are on the conservative side and could change.

He used zip codes 94025 and 94027 as a base of information for birth rates and researched home sales, tracking them with addresses of district students.

His report, available at the district, shows these trends:

** More families with children starting kindergarten or the early grades are moving to the district.

** More students are staying in the district, moving through the grades and graduating from eighth grade at Hillview Middle School. In past years, the district would lose some students after fifth grade to private schools. Now about 99 percent of the fifth-graders go on to Hillview, which has been recognized as a California Distinguished School seven times and nationally as a "Blue Ribbon School."

** Most of the recent enrollment growth has come from families buying or moving into homes in the highest price range -- primarily resales.

** About 120 new students are expected to attend district schools after completion of proposed development projects in Menlo Park, including single-family housing in the Linfield Oaks area and attached units near El Camino Real and by Derry Lane.
Four options

Superintendent Ranella has put forth four options for meeting the growth challenge. They are:

** No change. Add students to existing schools. Projected enrollment by 2015 would be: Laurel, 498 students, an 11 percent increase; Encinal, 490, up 32 percent; Oak Knoll, 758, a 12 percent increase; and Hillview Middle, 852 students, up 30 percent.

** Revise school attendance boundaries slightly, possibly shifting the boundaries along El Camino Real. (Students who now live east of El Camino attend Laurel for K-2 and Encinal for grades 3-5. Students living west of El Camino go to Oak Knoll, a K-5 school. All students attend Hillview for grades 6-8.) With a slight boundary change, by 2015 Laurel would have 542 students; Encinal, 534; Oak Knoll, 650; and Hillview Middle, 852.

** Build a new middle school for 852 students if a 22-acre site can be found. Enrollment would be about 431 at each of the other four, smaller schools.

** Change the school configurations to have two grade K-3 schools with 624 students at Oak Knoll and 520 at Laurel, and two grade 4-8 schools with 712 students at both Hillview and Encinal.
Conceptual designs

To visualize what the schools would look like in the future, architect Erwin Lee of Deems Lewis McKinley of San Francisco has developed a conceptual design for each of the schools. They all include additional classrooms and a new multi-use facility. There's also the option of going to a two-story classroom building, for example, at Hillview.
Funding

The multi-million-dollar question would be how to fund the additional facilities. A starting point is seeking the modernization funds from the state that is due for Laurel's modernization project that began in 1997.

The obvious source of funding would be a voter-approved bond measure in the near future.

E-mail a friend a link to this story.