U-46 to continue using mobile classrooms this year
With an expected decline in enrollment, Elgin area schools officials anticipate using fewer mobile classrooms to alleviate overcrowding this upcoming school year, officials said.
Elgin Area School District U-46 has been using mobile classrooms to address space needs for 20 years with the oldest classrooms at South Elgin High School, Nature Ridge Elementary School in Bartlett, Lincoln Elementary in Hoffman Estates, and Channing and Lowrie elementary schools in Elgin.
Last school year, the district had 39 mobile classrooms in 15 schools. It costs the district between $10,000 and $15,000 yearly to run each mobile unit.
Classroom additions currently underway at three overcrowded elementary schools - Coleman, Highland and Laurel Hill - and boundary changes are expected to eliminate the need for roughly 12 mobile classrooms districtwide, said Jeff King, U-46 chief operations officer.
The classroom additions and elimination of mobile classrooms are among more than $23 million in improvements at several Elgin-area schools this summer.
Officials are waiting on final fall enrollment numbers to determine how many mobile classrooms will be needed when school starts Aug. 17.
"We will find a contractor for demolition of units we no longer need," King said. "We won't make that determination probably for another two months."
King said there is no plan at present to eliminate all mobile classrooms, though the long-term goal is to reduce their use.
Most schools have a single mobile classroom and enrollment numbers fluctuate to where it may be needed one year and not needed in another.
Student enrollment in elementary grades has been declining slightly, while kindergarten enrollment was down last year and is expected to stay at that same level this year.
"Looking at student projections it's going to warrant more study to determine if in the long-term it makes more sense to add any more space or let it play out and see what the trend continues (to be) with student enrollment," King said.