Growing Student Numbers a Challenge to Wasatch Schools

In a study session before the Wasatch County School District’s regular meeting on February 20th the board and administrators heard from Davis Demographics. The firm showed an updated outlook on growth within the district over the next decade. While Wasatch High is forecast to experience phenomenal growth, Kindergarten through 5th grade in the district are expected to grow by a comparatively modest 13% over that same period. Wasatch School District spokesperson John Moss says “Studying where every single student lives and how the construction that’s coming in is going to affect the numbers of students” “So, it’s a very vital part of our planning for the future, knowing what is coming towards us as far as this title wave of children.”
Moss explains Davis starts studies by first taking the location and ages of every student in the district and plotting them on a map. “Then they look at every construction project that’s underway,” Moss said. “There are 130 different projects being built or planned right now in Wasatch County. Over the course of the next 10 years they project an additional 12,600 homes will be built in the Valley. The majority of those are single-family dwellings, not apartments, but single-family dwellings which bring in students.” Moss says the Sorenson Development alone will bring in enough students to duplicate the current district population. “You’re well aware that our bond effort failed last fall … We really are looking for input from our community. What is it that they want us to do with their children?” Moss added that the timing on a potential future bond would depend on what the public wants. The entire study presentation along with other documents can be found on the district’s webpage under the Future High School Tab.