 |
Ask the Superintendent -
November 21, 2007
As we travel throughout the community explaining
the proposed capital project to various
organizations, one of the questions we frequently
encounter pertains to growth in our schools.
There are people who doubt that our school and
community are growing – and will continue to grow –
at a rate that necessitates a building project of
this nature, despite a variety of documentation that
supports this belief.
We continually cite the two comprehensive
demographic studies completed by Dr. Paul Severksy
from Advisory Solutions as evidence of this growth.
These studies and historical enrollment data are
frequently referenced to support the belief that our
schools will continue to grow.
Additional evidence supporting an imminent surge in
growth has recently surfaced. On November 16, I
attended a meeting of the Orange County
Superintendents of Schools, where a document was
distributed entitled Labor Market and Demographic
Trends. The report was authored by the New York
State Department of Labor, Division of Research and
Statistics, and made public on November 14. It
clearly states that Orange County is the fastest
growing county in the State of New York. Cited
in the report is the fact that Orange County has
gained 35,000 (thirty-five thousand) residents in
the last six years, or a population increase of 10.3
percent.
This New York State document reinforces and supports
the statistics found in our two demographic studies
by Dr. Seversky. Together, all three studies provide
data that indicates our county, community and
schools have a growing population.
Please consider the following:
- Goshen Schools
grew by 717 students in 10 years (1997-2007)
- That is an
increase of 30% over ten years
- That is
comparable to adding a whole new school to
our district
- The Goshen
School District will grow by another 1,000
students in the next 10 years. (According to the
mid-range projection of Dr. Paul Seversky, the
Demographer from Advisory Solutions)
- Three of our
four schools are currently over the New York
State rated functional capacity;
- It takes five
years from the time a capital project is
approved by voters until the construction is
completed and the buildings are ready for
students;
Goshen
is not alone; many other Orange County school
districts have had to deal with the challenge of
increasing enrollment during the last five years.
Cornwall, Minisink, Chester, Middletown, Newburgh,
and Washingtonville have all supported major capital
projects in their district to accommodate growth.
*
* *
* *
Speaking for the Goshen Central School District, I
would like to wish everyone a safe enjoyable
Thanksgiving Holiday.
Roy Reese
Superintendent of Schools
|
|
