Dist. 211 expected to lose students

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 officials project the on-campus enrollment at its five schools will decrease by about 11 percent over the next eight years.

Superintendent Roger Thornton said the projections, based on enrollment figures from feeder districts -- Palatine Township Elementary School District 15 and Schaumburg Area Elementary School District 54 -- aren't surprising for the state's largest high-school district.

Thornton said he doesn't expect the projections to hold true, as variables like the volatile housing market could affect the numbers.

Officials released its annual projections at its Thursday board meeting. District 211 has a total of 12,652 students on campus, as of this year's sixth-day enrollment count, and officials estimate that number to be at 11,200 by school year 2015-16.

Thornton said the district-wide facilities expansion project will help alleviate spatial issues, but said the district is still running near or over capacity, and that would continue even though the enrollment is projected to drop. He pointed to the district offering more courses like AP and special-education classes as reasons.

"A special-education class of six requires more classroom space than a regular class of 20," Thornton said.

Enrollment is projected to decrease by 1.7 percent in the next school year. The numbers are based on the district boundaries as defined from October 2001. Thornton pointed out the projections don't take into account transfers or drastic shifts in families within the district.

District 211 is comprised of Conant, Fremd, Hoffman Estates, Palatine and Schaumburg high schools.

Palatine-Schaumburg High School District 211 enrollment projections

*2007-08 2008-09 2010-11 2013-14 2015-16

Palatine High 2,639 2,635 2,565 2,300 2,235

Fremd High 2,880 2,845 2,865 2,760 2,655

Conant High 2,464 2,450 2,335 2,220 2,185

Schaumburg High 2,531 2,455 2,400 2,280 2,235

Hoffman Estates High 2,138 2,045 1,985 1,920 1,890

District total 12,652 12,430 12,150 11,480 11,200

* 2007-08 figures based on actual sixth-day enrollment count.

Source: District 211. (Some school years intentionally omitted for space.)