Though not entirely a surprise, City Schools Decatur Superintendent David Dude has become convinced the system will need the equivalent of a new elementary school and 4/5 Academy by 2020.
Dude has already said he wants a second opinion on Thomas Sayre’s enrollment projections from last fall. But in the meantime Dude, who has a masters in measurements and statistics, decided to do his own projections of enrollment and capacity.
He said there will be a total enrollment of 6,481 by 2020-21, slightly more than Sayre’s projected 6,203.
Dude is also projecting a shortage in elementary schools Winnona Park and Oakhurst of 20 to 21 classrooms total, or roughly one entire south side school by 2020. Meantime the 4/5 Academy at Fifth Avenue will be shy 17 classrooms, or an entire grade.
Dude said possibilities include building a new elementary and 4/5, or a hybrid K-5, or adding extensions to current schools.
“These are numbers we will have to re-evaluate every year,” he said. “Bottom line, there has to be a point, absent annexation, where City Schools Decatur can’t handle any more students. We will run out of seats, out of space and out of housing for students.”
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