After decades of continuing growth, enrollment projections for public schools in East Cobb are expected to remain relatively stable in the near future.
A demographic report presented to the Cobb Board of Education in February showed that areas of the highest growth in Cobb County continue to be in the Smyrna and South Cobb areas.
That’s the focal point of new and near-future construction projects in the Cobb County School District.
Pockets of increasing enrollment in East Cobb have resulted in expansions and new classroom space in selected schools.
The newly adopted Cobb Education VI SPLOST calls for the replacement of the main classroom building at Sprayberry High School, as well as expansions and additions at Dickerson and Dodgen middle schools, and Bells Ferry, Kincaid, Mt. Bethel, Murdock, Sope Creek and Tritt elementary schools.
Dr. James Wilson, a former Cobb and Fulton superintendent, told school board members in February that Cobb County is back to where the suburbanization trends began in the 1950s.
“It just moved around,” Wilson said. “It has moved all the way around, and it has moved back to the south.”
The counterclockwise trends then shifted to East Cobb through the 1980s and then to North Cobb and West Cobb.
He showed a county land-use map showing that most of the undeveloped areas of Cobb are in western and southern areas. Cobb commission Districts 2 and 3, which include East Cobb, have less than 5,000 acres of undeveloped land combined.
“We’re running out of land,” Wilson said, noting that continuing the kind of large-scale residential development of previous times, including Chimney Lakes in East Cobb “is just simply not there.”
He cited 2020 Census statistics showing a sharp drop in county permits from the start of the economic recession in 2007.
“We’re not going to get back to the building of 2003 and 1998 and so on,” Wilson said.
Wilson also showed board members a chart (above) breaking down school-age groups in each high school cluster, with the Campbell High School attendance zone experiencing the biggest increases.
These figures too are based on 2020 Census data; the high numbers of ages 15-19 in the North Cobb zone are because of students enrolled at Kennesaw State University.
“This allow us to plan accordingly, Cobb Superintendent Chris Ragsdale said during the presentation, “where we might need a new high school, a new elementary school, and what the trend is telling us about families.
“They may start out in one area and then relocate to a different area. So this is very important data for us to be able to utilize.”
Wilson also showed enrollment figures by school from the start of COVID-19. The Cobb school district enrollment has fallen to around 107,000 from the nearly 112,000 students pre-pandemic.
You can watch a replay of the enrollment presentation by clicking here and then going to the Feb. 10 work session; the presentation begins around the 53-minute mark.
You can read through the presentation slides by clicking here.
The tables below show five-year enrollment figures at East Cobb schools, starting with the disrupted 2019-20 school year, including the present 2021-22 school year, and projections for the 2023-24 school year.
ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS
| Capacity | 19-20 | 21-22 | 23-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Addison | 662 | 628 | 581 | 570 |
| Bells Ferry | 712 | 743 | 719 | 754 |
| Blackwell | 837 | 729 | 641 | 677 |
| Brumby | 1162 | 957 | 956 | 948 |
| Davis | 800 | 601 | 610 | 647 |
| East Side | 1087 | 1240 | 1128 | 1063 |
| Eastvalley | 562 | 779 | 673 | 766 |
| Garrison Mill | 700 | 674 | 677 | 642 |
| Keheley | 600 | 477 | 413 | 453 |
| Kincaid | 762 | 678 | 578 | 710 |
| Mt. Bethel | 937 | 1098 | 992 | 1094 |
| Mountain View | 962 | 843 | 773 | 827 |
| Murdock | 962 | 987 | 935 | 933 |
| Nicholson | 637 | 480 | 406 | 468 |
| Powers Ferry | 900 | 411 | 391 | 422 |
| Rocky Mount | 612 | 613 | 562 | 557 |
| Sedalia Park | 912 | 732 | 621 | 605 |
| Shallowford Falls | 962 | 681 | 591 | 711 |
| Sope Creek | 1162 | 1157 | 1058 | 1131 |
| Timber Ridge | 612 | 560 | 482 | 528 |
| Tritt | 937 | 919 | 807 | 907 |
| CCSD Totals | 56,702 | 49,091 | 45,943 | 49,901 |
MIDDLE SCHOOLS
| Capacity | 19-20 | 21-22 | 23-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daniell | 1175 | 1015 | 906 | 1104 |
| Dickerson | 1187 | 1307 | 1208 | 1354 |
| Dodgen | 1187 | 1297 | 1208 | 1246 |
| East Cobb | 1387 | 1458 | 1297 | 1355 |
| Hightower Trail | 1012 | 1068 | 1022 | 1083 |
| Mabry | 1162 | 951 | 887 | 958 |
| McCleskey | 937 | 708 | 630 | 657 |
| Simpson | 962 | 899 | 868 | 858 |
| CCSD Totals | 28,770 | 26,533 | 25,206 | 25,558 |
HIGH SCHOOLS
| Capacity | 19-20 | 21-22 | 23-24 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kell | 2025 | 1502 | 1496 | 1483 |
| Lassiter | 2087 | 2070 | 1945 | 2286 |
| Pope | 1912 | 1943 | 1855 | 1790 |
| Sprayberry | 2087 | 1778 | 1890 | 1957 |
| Walton | 2812 | 2655 | 2689 | 2757 |
| Wheeler | 2187 | 2179 | 2296 | 2534 |
| CCSD Totals | 36,168 | 35,220 | 35,949 | 36,881 |
Related posts:
- Cobb school board OKs Eastvalley, Walton projects
- Cobb schools to give permanent employees $2K bonus
- Pope High School principal to retire in June
- Departing school board member urges votes for educators
- Cobb schools accreditor reverses findings of special review
- Sprayberry graduate announces run for Cobb school board
- Cobb schools: 98% of full-time employees returning for 2022-23
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