Central 301 Announces Meeting to Share Enrollment Forecast Results

On August, 7, 2024, Central CUSD 301 school district announced a Special Meeting will take place on Tuesday, August 13, 2024, from 5PM to 7 PM at Central High School's auditorium. The purpose of the meeting is to allow demography firm RSP & Associates to present their findings for an enrollment forecast and capacity analysis. The analyses were the result of public pressure following the second defeat of a $195 million referendum for a new high school.

That referendum was overwhelmingly voted down on the March 19, 2024, ballot, following a defeat less than one year prior when it first appeared on the ballot of April 7, 2023. At issue was the fact that the community had approved a $22 million referendum to "complete" the district's existing high school, Central High School in Burlington, and those improvements were supposed to provide space for "20 -25 years of enrollment growth". The $22 million was spent and the improvements were completed in 2018, yet just four years later in 2022, the district began holding "focus groups" advising the high school was out of space.

When the district was questioned on what happened to the 20-25 years for $22 million, the district responded on the Central 301 Referendum Website, stating:

"We have not been able to pinpoint the methodology utilized to determine the calculation for the 2016 fieldhouse and classroom addition solution, suspecting it may have been based on square footage rather than student enrollment growth. Unfortunately, we reached capacity sooner than anticipated."

Following the March 19th defeat, the community demanded an independent enrollment forecast and capacity analysis to be performed in order to ascertain exactly what future enrollment may look like, what grades would be impacted, and to confirm that the schools were operating at maximum functional capacity.

In response to the public demand, the Central 301 Board of Education held a Special Meeting on May 1, 2024, and approved the hiring of demography firm RSP & Associates to perform the enrollment forecast and capacity analysis with a requested results date at the beginning of August 2024. RSP & Associates is an independent firm based in Kansas, with a 97% accuracy rate for their 5-year enrollment forecasts. Their presentation will provide valuable insights and data to help guide the District’s future decisions.

If you live in the Central 301 school district, the details of the meeting are as follows:

WHEN: Tuesday, August 13 (5PM - 7PM)

WHERE: Central High School Auditorium
44W625 Plato Road, Burlington

For more information, go to www.buildingabetterdistrict.org.