Fairfield Schools Expect Enrollment Spike

Fairfield’s Board of Education does know one thing: Elementary school enrollments will continue to climb for at least the next 10 years. What it doesn’t know is how it will make room for all the new students.

Joe Clark and Dodds Cromwell from MGT of America discussed their projections for enrollment over the next decade at the Board of Education’s meeting Tuesday night.

“All this report does is tell us what we already know,” said Board of Education vice chair Pamela Iacono. “We have all our kids in the wrong places, in terms of where we have the space and capacity.”

By MGT’s estimate, Fairfield’s schools will see 1 to 3 percent more students each year through 2020. They expect Fairfield to have about 11,082 students by the 2020-2021 school year, compared to the current enrollment of 10,026.

“This is getting to be an attractive community for home prices and larger-size homes that accommodate families without having to build,” Clark said. “If more homes are occupied by more families, I think you can see an increase in enrollment.”

The challenge for the Board of Education is to find space for the new students. By MGT’s estimates, two elementary schools (Mill Hill and Riverfield) are already operating over capacity. If their 2020 projections hold, the district will be at 99 percent of current capacity over all 11 elementary schools.

That figure uses MGT’s standards of 23 students per classroom for grades K-2, and 25 students for grades 3-5. Fairfield aims for class sizes of 21. Even with recent expansions to Stratfield School and Osborn Hill, the district will be more than 300 students over capacity in 2020 using its current class sizes.

“The Facilities Committee needs to look at it, and based on it come up with some recommendations to bring to the entire board,” said chair John Mitola. “Obviously, as an entire board, we can take some action with respect to our facilities based on this information.”

 

Would you favor increasing class sizes if the Board of Ed needs to? What other ways can the district deal with larger enrollments? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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