SOUTH WHITEHALL TWP., Pa. — Parkland School District's rapid student population growth will see its middle and high schools exceed capacity in the coming decade if action is not taken soon, District Superintendent Mark Madson told a town hall meeting for community members Tuesday.
- Parkland School District Superintendent Mark Madson presented different options to address student population growth at a town hall meeting
- The district may build a new middle school and build additions to the high school, or it may create a new school for eighth and ninth graders
- The district will host another town hall meeting at Springhouse Middle School on May 11 at 6:30pm
Madson presented three potential paths forward. He said the options are meant to help the district better serve its students while adapting to the student population growth.
“We're not here to say, ‘Hey, we're just trying to hang on,'” Madson said. “We're here to say, ‘We have something really special. We need to not only maintain it, but we have to grow it.’”
The first option would be to build additions onto the high school, then build a new middle school. The second would be to build a new building for eighth- and ninth-graders, likely near the high school.
The third would be to build a new high school and build additions to the middle schools, but Madson said he thinks that option likely is not feasible for the school district.
The options came from an ongoing feasibility study initiated by the district administration and school board, called Vision 2030.
“We're not here to say, ‘Hey, we're just trying to hang on.' We're here to say, ‘We have something really special. We need to not only maintain it, but we have to grow it.’”Mark Madson, Parkland School District Superintendent
The feasibility study is analyzing enrollment projections and the capacity of existing facilities. It's being conducted by RLPS Architects.
A district feasibility study in 2015 indicated there was a need to address elementary overcrowding, so the district built Veterans Memorial Elementary School.
Madson said that after collecting feedback, the district administration will present its recommendations to the school board.
He said he hopes the district will by fall choose the option with which to proceed, and that the new building project would break ground in about two years.
The district will hold another town hall meeting at Springhouse Middle School at 6:30 p.m. May 11.
Student population growth
Current projections show Parkland High School's student population could exceed capacity by 2025, according to data presented by Madson presented at an earlier school board meeting.
Madson said the high school student population includes those who attend Lehigh County Technical Institute for some or all of the day, so the high school may not actually be projected to reach capacity until about 2028.
District middle schools also are projected to exceed capacity in coming years: Orefield Middle School in 2028 and Springhouse Middle School in 2027, before enrollment is projected to drop.
The district as a whole is projected to almost reach its capacity in 2030, with a projected student population of 11,335, compared with its capacity of 11,454.
Madson said "reaching capacity" does not mean students won't be able to enroll in the district, and the projections are estimates that could change.
But he said in an interview that previous projections have been “pretty close” to actual enrollment numbers.
The projected student populations are calculated using township data about plans for new housing developments across the district, according to Madson.
There have been many large proposed housing developments in the Parkland area, such as Sunset Orchards in Upper Macungie Township and the controversial mixed-use development Ridge Farms in South Whitehall Township.
Option one
The first option for addressing student population growth would have two phases. First, the district would build additions onto the current high school, which could include a multipurpose room, a new administrative office and a section for ninth-graders.
The district would then build a third middle school. Madson said the district still is considering options for where the middle school would be, but said it may make sense to build it in the southern part of the district.
“If we could take that and expand it to eighth grade and have students closer to home longer, that's even better."Mark Madson, Parkland School District Superintendent
Madson said he likes the option because middle school students would be able to have a more close-knit community with people who live nearby, similar to the district’s neighborhood schools at the elementary level.
“If we could take that and expand it to eighth grade and have students closer to home longer, that's even better,” Madson said.
Option two
For the second option, the district would keep sixth- and seventh-grade students in the middle schools, then build a new building for eighth- and ninth-grade students. Madson said the new building likely would be near the high school.
Madson said option two may be difficult for students because it would add another school transition for them, but it would also cost the district the least amount of money out of the three options.
The new building would need to house about 2,000 eighth- and ninth-grade students. Madson said the logistics of after-school programming for the school would be difficult to work out.
“But we're also really excited about this idea because this is creating something brand new,” Madson said.
Option three
The third option is building a new high school and building additions to the middle school. But Madson said that option is “probably not feasible” because of the cost and the limited options to add to the middle schools.
Madson also said the community members who have given feedback did not want two separate high schools.
“They all, almost unanimously, love the fact that Parkland comes together as one community in that high school,” Madson said.
Madson said the district may eventually need to build another high school, but does not need to build one now.
