District Looking to Address Short- and Long-Term Overcrowding Issues
With affordable housing, friendly and welcoming neighborhoods and high-quality schools, families continue to find Groveport Madison Schools a desirable school district in which to locate. As a result, enrollment in the District is growing year after year. This year, the District reached a record enrollment of 5,588, increasing by more than 100 students over the 2015-2016 school year. While enrollment growth is a positive indication of our increasing quality and desirability, it also is creating overcrowded conditions at many of our schools.
Last year, four modular classrooms were installed at Dunloe Elementary School to address the short-term overcrowding issues. At the November Regular Board Meeting, the Board of Education gave approval for the District to purchase 12 more modular classrooms, which will help to address overcrowding over the next few years. These units will be placed at Sedalia Elementary School, where they will help ease overcrowded conditions across the District.
At the November 2016 Work Session, the administration and Board of Education discussed the need to develop a long-term solution to address our overcrowding challenges – through the construction of additional classrooms/schools. Superintendent Hoover led a discussion on various options for the district to consider, including the potential to construct new schools in a different grade-level configuration (K-8). There is significant research available on the educational benefits of such a configuration.
In January, Superintendent Hoover will create an exploratory committee, including staff members from throughout the District, to begin researching best practices in grade-level configurations in order to inform a potential new school construction program. At the same time, Hoover has already notified the Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) of our desire for their help in revising our facilities master plan.
"We are in the very early stages of the discussion, and there are by no means any specific plans on the table," said Hoover. "There is no doubt that we must look at a construction solution to address long-term overcrowding issues. We are committed to involving our staff and the community in helping us to research what grade-level and construction options are best for the District to consider."
Posted: Monday, December 12, 2016