Dealing with enrollment growth: new middle school? Dealing with enrollment growth: new middle school? (February 01, 2006)

** Menlo Park school board to study the options Wednesday.

By Marjorie Mader

Almanac Staff Writer

Trustees of the Menlo Park City School District will meet in a study session Wednesday, February 1, to discuss options for dealing with a projected 20 percent growth in enrollment by 2015.

Among the options: building a new middle school.

Response from parents, teachers and community members during the past month showed strong support for maintaining a centralized middle school and a preference for building a new middle school if land is available, said Superintendent Ken Ranella.

The school community also prefers smaller schools at the elementary level to maintain the quality of learning and strong educational communities for families, said the superintendent.

The study session begins at 6 p.m. -- an hour earlier than the usual board meeting -- in the district office at 181 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.

A consultant's report verified trustees' concerns about growth in enrollment, which is expected to reach 2,600 students by 2015.

The growth is predicted due to: increased sales of homes to families with school-age children; more students staying in the district through the eighth grade, rather than transferring to private schools; and proposed new housing developments in Menlo Park.

During the study session, Superintendent Ranella and consultants will present information on at least three key topics:

** Investigation of available land for a new district middle school, serving grades 6-8.

** Additional architectural drawings that show options for reconfiguring the district's four schools.

** Options for financing the new facilities, including state grants and a local bond measure.

Among the options for reconfiguring school campuses:

** Hillview Middle School could be rebuilt on its existing campus to house the 852 students expected by 2015, a 30-percent increase.

** Laurel School, now grades K-2, and Encinal, grades 3-5, could each become a K-5 school.

Changing some attendance boundaries and shifting some students to Laurel and Encinal would reduce the pressure on Oak Knoll School, which now has 653 students and is expected to have 758 by 2015.

"One thing we got from the enrollment report is the kids are coming," said Trustee Bruce Ives when the board discussed the study session agenda during its January 18 meeting. He stressed the need for the board to look at the program impacts of increased enrollment.
INFORMATION

The school board's study session will start at 6 p.m. Wednesday, February 1, in the district office, 181 Encinal Ave. in Atherton.

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