Post by wvhsparent on Nov 8, 2006 22:21:11 GMT -6
GV is back!!!!!
Letters to the Editor
November 8, 2006
Numbers don't justify building high school
I was disappointed with the unbalanced coverage of the District 204 enrollment that was recently reported in The Sun. The article referred to my statement at a recent school board meeting but did not include any of the facts I presented.
Fact No. 1 - The kindergarten enrollment has been essentially the same for the past eight years. As a result, there is an enrollment plateau that now extends through the seventh grade.
Fact No. 2 - The height of this enrollment plateau has begun to drop, which results from an eight-year slowing trend. The sum of the second- through 12th-grade enrollment this fall versus the same group of students when they were in first through 11th grades last fall has actually declined by nearly 200 students.
Fact No. 3 - The elementary enrollment has declined by over 100 students since last fall. Accordingly, the state grant used to build Peterson Elementary School was wasted and would have been put to better use by another school district that really needed it.
Fact No. 4 - The total enrollment this fall is more than 600 students lower than the district projected and more than 200 students lower than the "no growth" model based solely on students progressing through the grades.
It is obvious we will not reach the peak middle and high school enrollments projected by the school district, and building an unnecessary $125 million high school will have a terrible long-term impact on our community.
George Vickers
Aurora
Letters to the Editor
November 8, 2006
Numbers don't justify building high school
I was disappointed with the unbalanced coverage of the District 204 enrollment that was recently reported in The Sun. The article referred to my statement at a recent school board meeting but did not include any of the facts I presented.
Fact No. 1 - The kindergarten enrollment has been essentially the same for the past eight years. As a result, there is an enrollment plateau that now extends through the seventh grade.
Fact No. 2 - The height of this enrollment plateau has begun to drop, which results from an eight-year slowing trend. The sum of the second- through 12th-grade enrollment this fall versus the same group of students when they were in first through 11th grades last fall has actually declined by nearly 200 students.
Fact No. 3 - The elementary enrollment has declined by over 100 students since last fall. Accordingly, the state grant used to build Peterson Elementary School was wasted and would have been put to better use by another school district that really needed it.
Fact No. 4 - The total enrollment this fall is more than 600 students lower than the district projected and more than 200 students lower than the "no growth" model based solely on students progressing through the grades.
It is obvious we will not reach the peak middle and high school enrollments projected by the school district, and building an unnecessary $125 million high school will have a terrible long-term impact on our community.
George Vickers
Aurora
