Demography, the statistical study of populations, is not an exact science. The consequences of that fact are currently playing out in the Princeton Public Schools (PPS), where the student population this year is 184 higher than anticipated, classrooms and schools are over-crowded, and school officials are ”doing what we can” for the short term, and planning for more favorable long-term solutions.

Superintendent Steve Cochrane has reported an enrollment of 3700; with just under 1600 at the high school (PHS), 200 more than the school is optimally designed to hold; some eighth grade class sizes pushing 30 at John Witherspoon Middle School (JW), where the overall student population jumped from 720 at the end of last year to 765 at the beginning of this year; and an unexpected surge in kindergarten numbers at Community Park, where a fourth section has been added, and in third grade at Riverside, which has added an additional section.

“The concern is the unknown, ” Mr. Cochrane said. Sources of the uncertainty include new developments at Avalon Bay, with demographic projections of 135 students but a low percentage of units rented and only ten students so far; 21 students residing at Copperwood, which was originally proposed as a 55+ community, but later welcomed younger families; and Merwick Stanworth, projected between 25 and 30 students, with the actual number currently 75 and likely to climb closer to 100 as more of the 325 units there are occupied.

At the School Board’s September 27 meeting, Board vice president Patrick Sullivan suggested that the district could see more than 200 additional students as these developments fill up.

“At this point we are watching our class sizes closely, ” Mr. Cochrane added. Crowding at the high school means larger class sizes in some subjects and less flexibility in student scheduling. Some eighth grade classes at JW are pushing 30. Class sizes at the elementary schools are averaging 17-18, though some are as high as 22-23.

“We now have very few unoccupied classrooms across our elementaries, so even if we budget for additional teachers, we will have very few places to
create new sections. We have even less space at the high school, ” Mr. Cochrane explained.

“The administration at PHS has done an excellent job of scheduling classes as efficiently as possible, ” he continued, “but that often means teachers do not have their own room and are instead given a desk in a space shared by many others. We are especially limited in the places we have for science instruction at the high school.”

More Space? New Teachers? 

Finding more space and hiring new teachers will not be easy. Possible solutions mentioned at the September 27 board meeting included adding trailers or “cottages” or renting space in the short term and, in the long term, putting a bond referendum on the ballot, seeking tax revenues from Princeton University and the Institute for Advanced Study (which send high numbers of their faculty children to PPS), and removing Cranbury students from the district (though Cranbury does pay the district).

The district must seek approval from the state Board of Education for its long-term plan before it can move ahead on many of the short-term measures.

“One of my stated goals for this year is to develop a proposal for a facilities referendum, ” Mr. Cochrane said. “We will engage in a needs analysis, a capacity study, another demographic study, an architectural analysis, and a cost-benefit analysis. We will be looking closely at the possibility of expanding space at the high school and at making sound educational use of the old Valley Road School. Throughout the process, we will talk extensively with our community to share ideas.”

Despite more uncertainty, anxiety and formidable challenges ahead, Mr. Cochrane concluded on a positive note, “The bottom line is that Princeton is an outstanding place to live and to go to school. People want to move here and are likely to continue to do so. We want to plan in ways that will address our current needs and position us for the future.”