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Stevens Point board approves $39,000 enrollment-study contract with MD Roffers
Summary
The Stevens Point Area Public School District board voted to hire MD Roffers to produce long-range enrollment and facility-use projections for $39,000, to be paid from budget savings tied to unfilled positions; consultants expect a 4–5 month study.
The Stevens Point Area Public School District board voted to contract with MD Roffers to produce long-term enrollment and facilities projections, approving a $39,000 proposal to be funded from savings tied to unfilled district positions.
The superintendent, Corey Hirschpriner, recommended the study as part of a board goal to examine enrollment trends, building capacity and attendance-area boundaries. “I would like the board to give us permission to move forward to utilize MD Roffers,” Hirschpriner said before the motion.
MD Roffers principals Mark Roffers and Nick Johnson described a process that divides the district into about 80–90 neighborhoods, projects housing-unit growth and births, and produces resident enrollment projections for several checkpoints (2027, 2030, 2035, 2040). Roffers said the firm’s projections look beyond linear trends and combine demographic analysis, housing-unit counts and fieldwork such as discussions with municipal planners and local real-estate professionals.
Supporters on the board said the study would offer a longer-term, data-driven basis for any boundary changes or grade-group reorganizations. “I would feel fundamentally more comfortable making decisions about our schools … with this background data,” board member Meg Uhler said.
Opponents said the district could address immediate crowding with internal staff and that the expenditure — though budget-neutral — diverted funds that otherwise would have paid salaries. “Our focus can be narrowed to getting some schools uncrowded,” a board member said, adding the district has internal capacity to redraw lines for short-term relief.
After discussion, board member Will moved to approve the contract and Ted seconded. The motion carried. Consultants said the work typically takes four to five months and will conclude with an 80–90 page report and a presentation to the board; they also offered that MD Roffers’ historical accuracy averaged about 2% error across 11 districts over several years.
The district intends to fund the study from budgeted money set aside for unfilled positions (about $42,000 to date), meaning the contract is budget-neutral according to staff.
Next steps: MD Roffers will begin data collection and stakeholder interviews, run multiple housing and demographic scenarios and return with a written report and presentation. The board and administration said they expect the work to inform, but not dictate, any future boundary changes or building consolidation discussions.
