Demographer outlines cohort-survival enrollment study and timeline; possible school closures could be proposed by November

The Sachem Board of Education heard an update July 23 from demographer Ross Haber on a districtwide enrollment-projection and facilities-utilization study that will inform attendance-zone revisions and the feasibility of closing schools. Haber, the consultant the district hired, said the study uses the cohort-survival method approved by the New York State Education Department and will combine recent enrollment, state Department of Health birth data (by school district), and information about proposed housing developments to produce five- and ten-year projections by grade and school. Haber said the study’s objectives include determining classroom needs, program equity across buildings and whether attendance-zone changes or school closures are feasible. He emphasized the elementary grades are the project’s critical…