You can’t help but see the growth that’s happening in the Union Elementary School District (UESD).
New housing developments are going up rapidly throughout UESD, and a recent demographic study commissioned by the district confirms that those new homes will also lead to more students attending district schools. Beginning in 2022-23, and continuing for at least the next five years, UESD can expect to add as many as 3,100 new households. With those households come children!
The demographic study was done for the district by Applied Economics, a Valley research firm that specializes in school district enrollment projections. The group recently reported its findings to the UESD Governing board.
Among the reports conclusions:
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UESD is likely to experience significant enrollment growth over the next five to 10 years. At the end of 10 years it is likely that there will no longer be land within UESD boundaries on which to build.
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A high concentration of young families with school-age children will continue to make up the majority of families in UESD.
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New housing construction has already begun within district boundaries, and is expected to increase steadily over the next three to five years. Several of those development projects are already underway with more planned.
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The current enrollment rate suggests that UESD could add approximately 700 students over its 2019-20 school year enrollment.
While the school-age population in some areas around the district may fall, it is still likely that new developments will add to student enrollment. To help UESD plan to meet the needs of our growing and changing community, UESD has contracted with an architectural firm to conduct a Facilities Review and Master Planning Study that will be completed by May of 2022.
One area UESD would like to improve on is the retention of school-age children living within district boundaries.
“We have done a great deal to improve the curriculum and offerings at our schools over the past few years, and we hope that as word gets out about the great things going on in our schools some of those families will return to UESD,” said Superintendent Kristine Morris. “These are their schools, and we want them to take advantage of all we have to offer.”