The Need for Space

In recent articles I've talked about the increase in enrollment for the Okoboji Community Schools. Here are the final numbers and what they mean. The certified enrollment is the number of students who live in our district's boundaries and go to school here plus the number of kids who live in our district's boundaries but open enroll to other neighboring districts. That number in the fall of 2008 was 880 students and in the fall of 2009, it was 886.2 students for a gain of 6.2 students. Why the decimal? Schools receive partial credit for students who are home schooled but take one or two classes in our schools and also for high school students who take some college courses as we get reimbursed from the state at a percentage of the cost. The number of students served in our district is calculated the following way: the number of kids who live in our district and attend school here plus the kids who live outside of our district and open enroll into the district plus the number of students who attend our school for special education purposes. That number in the fall of 2008 was 902 students and in the fall of 2009, it was 953.8 students for a gain of 51.8 students. The number of 953.8 are the actual students in seats that we are currently educating, and educating quite well, I might add.

It has been well documented the number of students we have in our younger grades, particularly kindergarten and the pre-kindergarten program along with the transitional kindergarten. It forced us to increase the number of sections in kindergarten from three to four for this school year. Last school year, every classroom was being utilized within the building. This year, we've had to utilize small “storage” rooms for reading groups and our TAG program. The small group instruction for additional reading has really helped with the reading program and we need to continue that practice but we're running out of space for the small groups.

The need for space looks like there will be an increased need in the next few years as well. This year's pre-k has 62 students, Head Start, which is housed in our building as well, has 10 four year olds, and the transitional kindergarten has 21 students. If we anticipate about 10-12 in TK for next year, you can see that we'll have around 80 again in kindergarten for next year. While no decisions have been made concerning class size in kindergarten, it appears that another four sections is likely.

For all of the above mentioned reasons, the Okoboji Community Schools is in the process of developing a long range facilities plan, with the help of Bergland + Cram Architects. We are currently in the information gathering mode and should have a finalized plan shortly. We must stay focused on a couple of things – student achievement and long term growth. There must also be flexibility built into this plan. Our short term goal is to develop additional classroom space at the elementary school for the additional sections of our younger students. We also must build into the plan, what might happen down the road if enrollment stagnates or goes back into the decline stage. The facilities plan will help give our Board information so they can make the best decision possible with as many options as possible.

Besides the classroom additions, we are also investigating the possibilities of converting the elementary building to a geothermal heating and cooling system. We are in the process of applying for the Harkin Construction grant through the state of Iowa which will help to reduce the cost of the project. Actually, the cost of the geothermal is higher than the cost of adding additional classroom space. Down the road, decisions will need to be made concerning all of this. We will pay for all of this through the one cent sales tax revenue. In other words, no general fund dollars will be used in our attempt to keep our local property taxes the lowest rate in the state. I'm sure there will be more information coming out in the future as we progress with this project. My goal here was to inform you as to why we need an addition to the elementary school. As always, if you have any questions, please feel free to contact me and thank you for your continued support of the Okoboji Community Schools.