School redistricting then and now

The Unionville-Chadds Ford School Board decided in December not to redistrict the elementary schools, but the idea has not gone away completely.

Superintendent John C. Sanville told members of the Pocopson Elementary School PTO that the district would keep a close eye on enrollment over the next few years.

“We’ll be all right for next year, and we’ll be all right for the next several years, but we will monitor elementary enrollment figures closely,” he said during the PTO meeting in the school library on Jan. 22.

That monitoring will involve developing what Sanville called “trigger points” for redistricting. He did not go into detail on the concept, saying the administration would first have to discuss that with the board. That’s supposed to happen during the February work session, he said.

The administration was considering redistricting because of the enrollment growth at Pocopson. According to the figures, Pocopson is currently at 89 percent of capacity while the other three elementary schools are about 70 percent, Sanville told the PTO.

The board retained the services of McKissick Associates to review the current population and make projections on future school enrollment based on housing development plans currently approved or under consideration in the seven townships covered by the school district.

McKissock’s projections show the school enrollment will hit 96 percent in 2018-2019. In raw numbers, enrollment at Pocopson for that school year could range anywhere from 665 to 742 students. The district, with the help of the consulting firm, estimates the actual number will be 704.

According to Sanville, those projections peak for the 2018-19 academic year, but then drop because development has declined. Many areas in the district are either built out or have land otherwise protected. Specifically, he cited Pennsbury Township’s purchase of more than 20 acres of property for open space, acreage that had been earmarked for residential use.

For now, families in the Unionville-Chadds Ford School District will soon be getting a letter from School Board President Vic Dupuis reviewing the reasons the board and administration decided against redistricting.

In the letter, Dupuis said redistricting is not warranted. While Pocopson Elementary School is currently experiencing “a bubble” in its enrollment, none of the elementary schools are over capacity and projected enrollments don’t show that happening in the near future.

About Rich Schwartzman

Rich Schwartzman has been reporting on events in the greater Chadds Ford area since September 2001 when he became the founding editor of The Chadds Ford Post. In April 2009 he became managing editor of ChaddsFordLive. He is also an award-winning photographer.

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