Capacity

[admin]

Discuss it in here.

[momto4]

hodedo said:

On Enrollment however, when you hear that the original NIU numbers for HS enrollment projections were 14,000+, then over about 1 year trimmed to "9200 + growth" the last quote I heard from a SB member...it has to make you wonder. Now you add the drop off in new residential building permits, the fact that only one development is moving forward in Sector G and that is an 55+ adult community, 2 canceled developments, 2 new developments not selling, and existing sales being soft, you now have to question the base number of 9200. Assuming a natural decline of a maturing community like 204 that will come from 95% of the homes, it is tough to see how 5% (and I am being generous here) will offset the effects of the 95%. Is it so hard to understand, that people just dismiss the numbers? The math does not work in favor of continued growth. So there is a final bubble moving thru the system. Building for bubbles is a bad thing most people would think right?

Can you expand on this? I don't know what you're talking about with a natural decline of a maturing community coming from 95% of the homes or what evidence there is to support any such thing. By almost any way of dealing with the numbers it seems clear that we will have sustained high and probably growing enrollment in all grades for many years to come. What is the number of HS students you expect us to max out at and for how many years?

On Capacity, it is laughable how dismissive the district has been of its own written communications showing much higher capacities, even in some cases where the physical capacities have been tested with real bodies. No one thinks full capacity is a good number, but some high percentage of that full capacity should be acceptable when a bubble is passing thru. The full capacity is indisputable when you add up the numbers from district communications (10,800). Then go ahead and apply any factor you want to that figure to get bubble capacity, but it should be high because its temporary. Even at 90% bubble capacity that's 9700. So you dont even need the CFO addition! Again any, repeat any, HS forecast is not as certain as the middle school crunch that is real today. Let's take care of the middle school first.

Why is this laughable? I think we've seen some fairly complete information from the district about all the numbers in question. Even more important the district has experience operating the buildings with various numbers of students in them and knows how many is the right capacity for our curriculum. Why do people continue to question this? Talk to people who worked in or attended in years that the school buildings are/were over capacity.

Again, for how long would you want to stuff in way more kids than reasonably fit in the HS buildings? I don't want my kids to be among the many thousands who will wind up with a substandard educational experience in 204 rather than the excellence that we have reason to expect.