JACKSON SCHOOL'S OVERCROWDING PROBLEMS REMAIN

JACKSON -- Despite the failure of two funding issues last week, there's no denying Jackson schools face a continuing problem: They're out of space.

The district, which is growing at a rate of 3 percent annually, has an enrollment of 4,482 students. Of that number, 2,022 students are in elementary grades, 682 are enrolled in the middle school, 748 are at the junior high, and 1,030 are enrolled in high school.

School officials said the high school, which was expanded with the addition of a math and science building in August 1998, will manage its growth "for several more years."

The older portions of the campus have small classrooms, and the gymnasium is cramped and outdated, but overall the building "is something we can live with for several years," said Fred Jones, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

In R.O. Hawkins Junior High, however, every space, including some not meant to be used as classrooms, are in use every hour.

Social studies and special service classes are held in what was once the basement. The rooms lack windows, and ventilation "is probably inadequate," Jones said.

"We've been doing that for several years -- getting by -- it's just that now we have no place for kids to go," he said. "What was built for a student population of 600 to 650 is now serving 750, and we expect to be closer to 800 next year."

The dearth of space means curriculum offerings are limited. Eighth- and ninth-grade students desire access to foreign language and other courses, but expansion is hampered by lack of classroom space.

In some cases, students are being enrolled in study halls to accommodate the numbers, Jones said.

"We're getting additional students but can't have additional sections because there are no more rooms," he said. "You have to shift kids from areas it would be beneficial to them to areas like study hall because there's no room to put them in classes they need."

The situation is little better at the elementary level.

Despite expansion several years ago, students are being bused from North Elementary School where the enrollment has reached 275.

Orchard Elementary School has only one empty classroom, and South Elementary School, which opened with a six-classroom addition in 1998, will have only one empty classroom next fall.

"Elementary schools are usually the ones that get the most impact in student enrollment, so we just don't know what to expect for the next school year," said Jones.

North, Gordonville and Millersville schools all are at enrollment capacity. To compound the matter, Gordonville and Millersville attendance centers house only seven classes together.

The smaller buildings are somewhat inefficient to run, but patrons in those areas have a long-standing commitment to the buildings, said Jones.

In the past, students in the outlying areas have been moved into town schools when classes grew too large. That will likely happen next year for Gordonville first-graders.

"We provide adequate classrooms for students in those communities, but when we get large classes, we have to move some students into town," Jones said. "Those are good schools and the community likes them and we like them and have no plans of changing them."

Despite the elementary school crunch, Jones sees some light ahead. Some ease is expected because nearby St. Paul Lutheran School will expand its services and offer kindergarten classes next year.

"That takes those students that used to go to Jackson kindergarten before going to St. Paul for first grade out of the picture," he said.

With the bulk of growth occurring at the elementary and junior high school levels, Jones said the school board faces a major task in determining available options before a bad situation becomes unmanageable.

"When you think about a new school taking between 20 months and two years to complete, that means we're going to have at least two years of problems," he said.

"There's going to have to be some pretty intense planning over the next seven months to see what our options are."