District reports surge in enrollment; multilingual student count rises to 114

The superintendent reported that “right now, we have 3,481 students, that are currently enrolled. Our capacity is 3,355, which puts us at a 126% a 126 students over capacity,” and warned the board that new housing developments could increase pressure on elementary schools.

Administrators said developers’ timelines vary; the presentation singled out two developments expected to contribute additional students: a Doremus Town (expected to contribute an estimated 39 students beginning in January) and Sterling (estimated 58 students). The district’s demographer and the administration provided projections and cautioned that predictions vary by developer estimates and occupancy rates.

The board heard that multilingual learners increased from 33 in the 2023–24 school year to 114 in the current year — an increase the administration described as “245%.” The administration listed the most common home languages as Spanish, Turkish, Korean, Chinese and Arabic and said the district added multilingual capability to its website to improve communication with families.

Why it matters: The district said it is already using temporary measures — consolidating some classes, moving programs and increasing average class size slightly — to manage capacity. But administrators warned that continued housing-driven growth will require longer-term facility planning and potential capital projects.

Provenance: Enrollment remarks appear beginning at 00:24:28 and continue through the capital-planning segment. Evidence excerpts: “Right now, we have 3,481 students, that are currently enrolled. Our capacity is 3,355” (00:24:28) and “2 years ago in 2324 school year, we had 33 total, multilingual students. This year we currently have a 114” (00:24:28–00:26:12).