EMILY CHAMBERLAI
The Alpine School District plans to construct new school buildings in response to population increases, providing possible teaching positions for graduating elementary education students at BYU.
The school board met Tuesday evening to discuss a study on school site and building utilization conducted by A/P Associates.
“The school population is doubling each decade,” said Gary Jones, an A/P Associates representative.
According to the study, the total school age population is estimated to increase to 46,000 by the year 2000. Jones said elementary schools will have about 3,600 students in excess of building capacity, creating a need for an additional 142 classrooms.
However, there will be a decline in total enrollment for secondary schools in the Alpine district, said Michael Robinson, the district’s public information specialist. It is projected through the year 2000 that the student population will decrease and fill 84 percent of the total capacity.
The study completed by A/P Associates suggests a need to build more elementary schools. Jones said elementary schools under construction in Lehi, Cedar Hills, and Lindon, are placed in the right locations. These schools will help absorb the population growth.
The study also suggested looking ahead to purchasing building sites. A site in Traverse Ridge was listed as first priority for purchasing, followed by land in West Lehi and South of American Fork.
Robinson said evaluating enrollment is an ongoing process. The Alpine School District takes a count of students monthly. Robinson said there have been six schools under construction in the last five years.
He said Timpanogos High School was built to alleviate over-crowding at Orem and Lindon high schools. Another secondary school under construction in Cedar Hills will absorb excess students from Lehi.
Additional buildings will also create a need for more teachers, which could be good for BYU graduates.
“For the school year 1996-97, 300 new teachers were hired and about 100 were interns,” said Rebecca Yorgason, personnel secretary in Alpine. “Over half of the new hires are from BYU and almost 100 percent of the interns are BYU students.”
Jones said many factors such as the economy, finances and land owners will affect the growth in the population.
Robyn Dalzen/Daily Universe
RELIEF WORK: Construction workers at Timpanogos High School dug holes Thursday to prepare for additional buildings. New classrooms should bring relief to a growing student body. Schools throughout the Alpine School District suffer from over-crowding
