With almost 690 students, Mill Creek Elementary is busting at the seams. Lunch is crowded, the parking lot overflows in the afternoon and four portables are used for classrooms.
Just last fall, new boundaries went into effect that aimed to relieve overcrowding at all Everett School District south end elementary schools.
Some schools lost hundreds of students after those changes. But Mill Creeks’ enrollment went up, from 591 students in fall 2006 to 677 students in fall 2007. It went up again this year to almost 690.
The change has some wondering what happened.
“I’d definitely say it’s a concern,” said Cheryl Mackay, a Mill Creek Elementary parent. “It’s a topic of conversation among parents and I think people just aren’t sure if they can do anything about it.”
It’s tough, because lunches are so crowded that kids who want hot lunch only have about 10 minutes to eat. In the afternoon, parents trying to pick up their kids from school overflow into the surrounding neighborhoods, she said.
In addition, four portables are being used as classrooms, and one kindergarten class is held in what used to be the PTA or community room.
“I think our principal and staff do a great job of making the best of the situation,” Mackay said.
Mill Creek Elementary is the only school in the south end that grew after the boundary changes.
On the other side of town, schools that overflowed have shrunk to a more manageable size.
For example, Cedar Wood Elementary had almost 770 students in fall 2006, before the boundary changes. It shrunk to 550 students in fall 2007, after the changes. This fall, it shrunk again to just under 500 students. (See sidebar for enrollment numbers for other schools.)
District officials didn’t expect to see one school grow and others slow down so fast. The economy and other factors threw them a curve ball, officials say.
“We make a lot of assumptions in our enrollment projection process,” said Mike Gunn, director of facilities and planning for the district.
Here’s how the boundary process went: In fall 2007, a new school, Forest View Elementary, opened. It was meant to help relieve the booming student enrollment projected for the south end of the district.
In 2005, officials began planning for new boundaries, based on enrollment projections for 2010.
In 2005, development was booming in Mill Creek and south Everett. Officials projected that by 2010, the children’s population in the area would exceed elementary school capacity by one full elementary school, about 500 students.
In contrast, the attendance area for Mill Creek Elementary was projected to decline.
In fact, in 2010, Mill Creek Elementary was predicted to be under capacity. Its capacity is 500 students. (Technically “under capacity” means there’s no portables and 85 percent or less of classroom space is used.)
Because of the projected decline, officials added two neighborhoods to Mill Creek Elementary’s boundary area for fall 2007.
Contrary to predictions, the population in the boundary area grew two years in a row.
In contrast, some other schools, including Forest View, are expected to grow slower than predicted for 2010, Gunn said. Forest View grew faster from last year to this year than expected, from 392 students in fall 2007 to 479 students this fall. But through 2010, growth is now expected to be slower because of the economy.
There is no immediate plan to redraw boundaries. However, the district tries to keep all its options in mind, Gunn said.
Those options could include limiting variances into the school, moving special programs, building an addition to the school and doing boundary changes again.
There is no plan in the next five to 10 years to build a new school, Gunn said.
This year, district officials purchased land for an elementary school or schools that might be needed in the year 2024.
In the meantime, Mill Creek Elementary staff are trying to manage the school’s size.
“I just have to make a more conscious effort to get into classrooms more often,” said principal Mary Ann Opperud. “I don’t like to lose that personal touch.”
She’s had more assemblies with grade levels, for example, to try to interact more with kids personally.
“It can be challenging,” she said. “(But) I think we’re doing well. We have wonderful parents and staff and kids.”
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