West Ada schools are near capacity. How many more new schools will the district need?
The West Ada School District projected it will need eight new schools in the next decade to accommodate growth in the region.
During a presentation Wednesday night before the Meridian City Council and school board trustees, district officials said they expect West Ada will need two additional elementary schools in the northern region, and one each in the western and southern regions. The district will also need two additional middle schools and two more high schools.
The school district, the largest in the state, serves nearly 40,000 students, according to fall enrollment numbers from the state Department of Education. Officials said some of the district’s schools are near capacity now and, with the projected growth, won’t be able to accommodate the additional students that could enroll.
Star Elementary School is already at capacity, and could see signs of overcrowding during the 2022-2023 school year, district officials said. Other schools were projected to reach capacity within the next several years.
A tentative timeline showed an elementary school in Star needed in 2024 and two elementary schools in Meridian and South Meridian in 2025. Before 2030, the district’s timeline shows a middle school needed in north Meridian, a high school in Star and an elementary school in Star or West Eagle. By 2034, the district expects to need an additional middle school in South Meridian and a high school in South Meridian or Boise.
“There’s still lots of work that we will be doing to identify that need and assess our stakeholders, continue to evaluate needs,” said Jonathan Gillen, chief operations officer for the district. “Projections continue all year.”
The costs for all of the projects over 10 years would total an estimated $334 million, which includes a new career technical education center. The most significant costs come from the two new high schools, estimated at about $86 million and $94 million.
The district plans to continue to refine potential facility needs, review fall enrollment and future projections and further refine cost projections.
Treasure Valley growth challenges schools
School districts have been challenged by rapid population growth statewide and in the Treasure Valley.
According to the 2020 U.S. Census, Idaho’s population grew 17.3% in the past decade, the second-fastest growing state in the country. For the past five years, Idaho has ranked No. 1 in the nation in terms of its population growth percentage. From 2020 to 2021, the state grew by 2.9%. The No. 2 state, Utah, grew by about 1.7%, according to the census data.
In the past decade, growth particularly in Ada County skyrocketed. Star, the fastest-growing city, Meridian was ranked fourth among the fastest-growing cities in the U.S., with a population growth of 56.7% since 2010, according to the 2020 Census. Ada County’s population grew by 26.1% during that time period.
During the meeting, council members asked questions about whether the school district is concerned over its ability to pass bonds likely needed to pay for the new schools.
Gillen said the district works to educate voters on the potential impacts of bonds. Some requests have received a lot of support in the past, he said.
“I think it’s just something that we always gauge and continue to manage as we just continue to educate voters so that they can make informed decisions,” he said.
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 12:54 PM.
