How many kids?

With districtwide enrollment up 3.5% in two years, the Middlesex Board of Education has hired a consultant to conduct a demographic study.

The board hired Milltown-based Ross Haber Associates on Feb. 21 to conduct the study at a cost of $2,800. Depending on the findings, demographic studies can be the first step taken by a New Jersey school board in planning for a building improvement referendum.

At a meeting the prior night, Superintendent Roberta Freeman told board members that the district is lacking for space in all of its schools, according to the minutes of that session. Additional space will need to be obtained very soon to accommodate the growing enrollment, she added.

Freeman said the study will address the district’s special education population, including out-of-district students.

Board member Amelia Sherr suggested a districtwide re-registration. Freeman replied that a re-registration would have to be done over multiple years since the related department consists of only one person.

The minutes of the board’s Feb. 21 session state that an audience member commented about the possible use of the former OLMV School. There was no response by either Freeman or board members in the meeting minutes.

Official enrollment counts are taken by the state’s school districts in October of each year. Enrollment totals reported to the state Department of Education (DOE), show the Middlesex school district’s number of students has increased since the 2021-22 academic year.

That year, the district served 1,984 students, according to the state. The figure rose to 2,020 in 2022-23.

Figures for the current school year are not yet posted on the DOE website. The numbers reported to the state for 2023-24 were 2,054 full-time students and 2,067 Middlesex resident pupils, according to Annette Giordano, the district’s acting business administrator. The resident pupil count includes those students who are entitled by law to attend school in a particular town, but do so in another place for various reasons.

The difference between the 1,984 reported enrollment figure of two years ago, and this past October’s 2,054 is 70 students or 3.52%.

Inside – Middlesex filed an Open Public Records Act request seeking the Haber Associates contract. In response, the district released a Feb. 6 letter from the firm’s president Ross Haber outlining the intended scope of the demographic study.

Haber wrote that the study will include projections based on a six-year enrollment history and kindergarten projections based on Middlesex Borough live birth data. It will also consider planned and approved new housing projects, sales trends of existing units, and school and community demographics.

Along with the final report, Haber will conduct virtual meetings during the study period to give updates or clarify issues. The firm will give a public presentation of its findings either in-person or virtually.

Haber Associates has conducted enrollment and/or demographic studies in numerous districts in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, including Piscataway, Springfield, Summit and Perth Amboy.

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