Impacts of Development
Are New Schools in Our Future?
Enrollment and Capacity of Existing Schools
| School | Enrollment (as of 5/6/09) | Rated Capacity* |
| Adamstown Elementary | 415 | 500 |
| Denver Elementary | 498 | 500 |
| Reamstown Elementary | 506 | 650 |
| Schoeneck Elementary | 100 | 175 |
| Cocalico Middle School | 801 | 1067 |
| Cocalico High School | 1158 | 1525 |
|
Total |
3478 | 4417 |
* Used for Planning Purposes. Functional capacity may be different.
Proposed Residential Subdivisions*
| Subdivision | New Residential Lots |
| Rose Hill | 303 |
| Wabash Landing | 197 |
| Heatherwood | 181 |
| Fox Brooke** | 122 or 500+ |
| Parkview | 117 |
| Village at East Cocalico | 101 |
| Morganshire | 87 |
| Stony Pointe (E & J) | 52 |
| Stevens Court | 38 |
| Ridge Road | 9 |
| Hurst | 5 |
| Mitchell | 3 |
| Kindt | 2 |
| Gingrich | 1 |
|
Total |
1218 or 1596+ |
* All in East Cocalico Township except for Stevens Court,
which is in West Cocalico on the East Cocalico Township border, but will use
water from East Cocalico Township. See
Projects Page for further details
** The higher number of lots for Fox Brooke is if they follow through with their
proposal to switch to the "Village Overlay" zoning.
For planning purposes a value of 1.5 students per new household is a good rough estimate (see Planning Commission meeting minutes of April 24, 2006, page 2). This value will vary depending on the size of the houses being constructed (i.e., number of bedrooms), and other factors. Using this value, the 1218 (or 1596) new households may add approximately 1827 (or 2394) new students to the School District. There may be other new residences currently planned in the three other municipalities in the School District (West Cocalico Township, and Adamstown and Denver Boroughs).
| Total Enrollment (2008-2009) | 3478 |
| Projected increase from new construction | 1827 (or 2394) |
| Current Enrollment plus projected increase | 5305 (or 5872) |
| Current Rated Capacity of Schools | 4417 |
| Projected Enrollment as Percentage of Capacity | 120% (or 133%) |
The relationship between rated capacity of the schools, enrollment, and projected population growth is complex. However, these numbers do provide us with an approximate idea of where we stand. When all of the subdivisions currently planned are built (and more are likely to be proposed in the near future with the completion of US 222 and the upcoming removal of the water connection ban), we can anticipate the need to construct new schools in the not too distant future.
© Ken McCrea 2009