April 2, 2012 at 5:30 PM - Special Meeting of the Board of Education

Discussion:  Denny Hill from Strategic Resources West Inc, presented a demographic analysis and facility plan to the Board. Hill said he looked at the socioeconomic conditions and demographic trends; estimated growth potential; prepared enrollment forecasts (Short Term plus Build Out); conducted facility capacity analysis; compared enrollment forecasts with school facility capacity; and assessed long-term facility implications. He said he also talked to people about the questions that needed to be answered. Some key observations Hill found include: employment base is shifting from manufacturing and becoming more diversified; city/district are growing relative to country; modest housing growth potential, mostly north; economic indicators rebounding; births have been increasing slowly, and kindergarten capture is up. He said enrollment is likely to fluctuate and grow slowly, and the CPS enrollment is increasing while the private schools enrollment is dropping.