Enrollment is continuing to climb at what have traditionally been among the fastest growing school districts in the state, and the two biggest districts in Johnson County are building new schools in an effort to keep up.
Four school districts in Johnson County are growing, while enrollment dropped at Greenwood and Franklin schools. Whether more or fewer students are enrolled in a district has an impact on each district’s pocketbook the rest of the school year.
Nearly 27,000 students are attending kindergarten through 12th grade at the six public school districts in Johnson County, which is up about a percent, or 242 students, from last year. That is primarily due to continued population growth in the northern part of the county.
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Enrollment has grown about 8 percent in the past 10 years, and multiple new school buildings have been built, requiring more teachers, janitors, bus drivers and tax dollars.
Center Grove’s enrollment grew by about 150 students this year and has for the past four years. To keep their student-to-teacher ratio about 22:1, classes are being conducted in trailers until a new elementary school opens next fall.
Neighboring Clark-Pleasant grew by nearly 100 students. A new elementary school is planned to open in 2021, and the district has projected that about 100 more kids will continue to enroll each year.
Franklin hoped to continue growing this year, but budgeted conservatively for a decrease of 11 students. Instead, enrollment dropped by 28 students, which will result in about $200,000 less than what the district received last year from the state.
A school district’s main operating budget, which pays for teacher salaries, benefits, supplies and utilities, is based on the number of students it has enrolled on a specific day, known as count day, and that funding changes every year with enrollment. How significantly it changes is something officials can anticipate, but have no control over because it is tied to enrollment. On average, school districts get less than $7,000 per student per year from the state to help pay for that child’s education.
On the south side of the county, Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson welcomed 36 new students this year, and Edinburgh added 11 to its small but growing roster.
Greenwood is down 14 students this year, but enrollment is actually higher than school officials expected.
Center Grove
Center Grove’s enrollment has climbed by 600 students total in the past four years, and a new elementary school is being built to accommodate the new students expected in the coming years.
Center Grove Community Schools had 8,426 students enrolled at its 10 schools on the state’s annual Count Day Sept. 14, which determined funding for the entire school year. By comparison, 8,275 students were enrolled on the same day last year, school officials said.
Every couple of years, Center Grove hires a demographer to dig into area data, such as birth rates and new subdivisions under construction, and make enrollment projections for the coming school years. The story has remained the same for the past several years. Enrollment will continue to grow by about 150 students each year as a result of new homes being built.
“Along with those kids comes the need for additional teachers and classroom aids,” Chief Financial Officer Paul Gabriel said.
This is the fourth consecutive year the school has grown by about 150 students, he said. To keep up, the district is building a new $40 million 800-student elementary school in White River Township, which will open next school year.
“We continue to try to take a look into the future to determine when we’ll need to add or expand,” Gabriel said. “What we find is that one year at a time, we are extremely accurate. The further you try to look into the future, the harder it is to be accurate.”
Right now, their focus is on the elementary schools because that is where the most growth is occurring. As those students get older, they will have to add onto the middle and high schools as well, he said.
The school district is renting eight 900 square-foot double-wide trailers that they are using as classrooms at Sugar Grove and Maple Grove.
“Each one of those little tiny buildings holds two classes, so it’s kind of deceiving when you walk up to them,” Gabriel said. “(Parents) understand that our district is growing so rapidly and they know we’re building a beautiful new school, but those things take time to happen.”
Clark-Pleasant
With 86 new students this year, Clark-Pleasant Community Schools officials expect about a $500,000 bump in funding, which will allow them to add staff and provide pay raises, they said.
Clark-Pleasant has 6,633 students enrolled at its eight schools in Whiteland. The district has traditionally been the fastest-growing district in Johnson County. It has grown by nearly a quarter since 2008 and is expected to continue growing as more and more houses go up in the Whiteland area.
When the recession hit in 2009, a lot of subdivisions halted development, Business Director Jay Staley said. When that happened, enrollment stayed about the same for a few years. But now that the housing market is booming again, so is enrollment. Like Center Grove, school leaders expect to see continual growth for years to come, which is why they are planning to open a new elementary school as well in 2021.
“Moving forward, we know there are numerous more subdivisions plotted. It’s something we’ll just have to continue to monitor. A lot of land on the east side is still undeveloped, so we’re anticipating growth for many, many years,” Staley said.
“We feel good about the way our funding is tied to students. Most of that goes to salaries and benefits, so we’re able to add staff and provide pay raises.”
Indian Creek
One trend Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson school leaders are noticing is an uptick in enrollment at the lower grade levels, especially kindergarten through second grade.
“That is where the greatest increase is occurring and that has been a trend over the past few years. The high school is actually down this year because 180 students graduated in the spring. Our average class size is around 150,” assistant superintendent Andy Kline said.
“It’s a positive trend. Our hope is that those students and their families become acclimated and comfortable and successful in Indian Creek schools and they stay.”
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson has 1,869 students enrolled at its four schools, up 36 over last year.
“We definitely have room to grow. We certainly have the facility space available,” Kline said.
“The money follows the child. In my opinion, if you’re moving in a positive direction, you should be able to maintain or even improve facilities and programs.”
Edinburgh
Edinburgh Schools saw the least amount of change in its enrollment compared to last year, adding 11 students.
New Superintendent Doug Arnold is excited about that growth and wants to see it continue.
“You always, always want to be at least where you were, but of course more is better. The goal is to keep the students you have and hope that they share info with other potential students,” Arnold said.
A new strategic plan is in the works, he said, which will make growing enrollment a priority for Edinburgh.
“I’d like us to come up with a mission and a vision and five goals,” Arnold said. “We need to successfully market ourselves as a school district of choice,” Arnold said.
Greenwood
Greenwood school officials budgeted for a drop in students, but enrollment didn’t dip as much as they prepared for. The about 4,000 student district has 14 fewer students this year.
Greenwood is the only true city school district in the county. The area it covers is entirely developed and established, so the district will only experience growth if and when more families with school-aged children move into the downtown area, which hasn’t happened. Greenwood’s enrollment is virtually the same as it was 10 years ago. For example, 3,960 students were enrolled for the 2008-09 school year.
“Around the 4,000 mark for Greenwood schools is a comfortable place to be,” assistant superintendent Todd Pritchett said.
Enrollment has fluctuated through the years. In 2015, 3,797 students attended Greenwood schools.
“We have no alarms going off here. It is not a major concern of ours. Different class sizes impact enrollment from year to year. We’re happy where we’re at,” Pritchett said.
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Here is a look at enrollment numbers for Johnson County public school districts on the state’s official count day in 2018 compared to the same day in 2017.
Center Grove
2018: 8,426
2017: 8,275
1.8 percent increase
Clark-Pleasant
2018: 6,633
2017: 6,547
1.3 percent increase
Nineveh-Hensley-Jackson
2018: 1,869
2017: 1,833
2 percent increase
Edinburgh
2018: 828
2017: 817
1.3 percent increase
Greenwood
2018: 3,990
2017: 4,004
0.3 percent decrease
Franklin
2018: 5,063
2017: 5,091
0.5 percent decrease
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