Thursday, November 20, 2008
Quick Poll
How much do you plan to spend on Christmas presents this year compared to last?
- Less: 169
- More: 7
- Same: 37
Total Votes:
Published Saturday, August 16, 2008 in Opinion
Slower pace of student growth has some positive implications
Editorial
Our local school system -- students, teachers, administrators, staff and parents -- has settled into a new school year. Things have gone rather smoothly, and about 22,000 students are attending public schools in our county.
That's about a 200-student increase from the last school year. While Coweta schools keep growing, the rate of growth has slowed this year in comparison to recent years. Coweta schools have been experiencing a student population increase of between 700-1,000 annually for a decade or more. While additional students will be added to the rolls during the school year, the increase by the end of the current school year is not likely to reach that 700-1,000 total.
What's the reason for this slowdown in growth? Is this a new trend?
The growth slowdown primarily is attributed to our troubling economy. The housing slowdown is a major factor. You can get different answers when you ask how long this housing crunch will continue. This week former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said he predicted improvement by mid-2009.
When our economy does improve, we can expect more growth in our county. It may be at a slower pace, but we will continue to grow. Our school system will continue to get larger. We will continue to have to build more schools.
We are building another new elementary school now. It will open next August. But school officials indicate this slower pace of enrollment has a silver lining. It gives them a chance to hold off for a while on building another new high school. It takes two years to build a high school, and the cost of a high school is in the $50 million range, significantly more than the cost of a smaller elementary or middle school.
So while most of the impact of our troubling economy is negative, the slower pace of student growth helps school officials cope with the needs of a growing school system at a time when revenues are tight.