Overpopulation

The student population in Brookline’s elementary schools is on the rise. This burgeoning enrollment will soon cause problems for the high school. As of now, our population is approximately 1777 students; however, it is expected to jump to 2185 students by the fall of 2017 and to 2370 in 2021.

This is a very real and serious crisis for Brookline.  To combat this issue the town must act agressively and develop a comprehensive plan to accommodate a larger student body.

With 400 students on their way, expansion is required to meet simple spatial needs; the current building cannot accommodate the equivalent of an additional grade’s worth of students.

Any renovation to the building requires temporarily relocating a portion of the student body.

If no renovation are in the forecast, the town could choose to permanently relocate a grade, despite the drastic implications of dividing the school.

If the freshmen were moved to the Old Lincoln School, either permanently or during renovations, as they were during the renovations here in the late 1990s, they could take basic classes but would not have access to more specialized offerings.

The choices are not easy or glamorous, but waiting will make them no better.

If the school administration does not plan for the rise in enrollment now, it might be forced to construct trailer classrooms on Cypress Field.

The field is the only green space near the campus. If wrecked with the eyesores of trailer classrooms, not only would the appearance of the school be harmed but students would lose an athletic field. What might be sold to community members as a temporary solution could become a permanent necessity.  This might jeopardize the functionality of Cypress Field forever.

The most drastic response is the use of eminent domain to acquire land surrounding the school. Citizens would be highly opposed to this land grab by the government.

The issue is one of the most complex and challenging facing school officials.  It involves balancing changing demographics with the budget.

Money for expansion is currently channeled to elementary schools where the population boom has already hit. Funding for the construction of 21 classrooms at the elementary schools is already appropriated.

When the boom is split between the elementary schools and the high school, money will need to be syphoned from these school expansion projects.

To fund the needed projects, a flat increase in taxes on all Brookline citizens, an override, could be one way to meet this new budgetary need.

This crisis extends beyond building structures and town finances. The school will need to hire teachers and guidance counselors.

If class sizes continue to increase, the allure of the public schools will diminish, possibly causing a decrease in property values.

This huge problem is not years away.  The school system needs to stop ignoring the imminent issue affecting students, faculty, parents and everyone in Brookline. They must create and act  on a plan to address the ticking time bomb that is the coming rise in enrollment.