Schools
Enrollment At Moraga Schools Trending Upward
What is the impact of development on schools in Moraga? And do the schools have room?
In general, development is good for the schools – more students equal more funding, and Moraga school district enrollment appears to be on the rise.
“We appear to be climbing out of declining enrollment," Superintendent Bruce Burns explains. "Right now, enrollment is relatively flat. This year is preliminary, but our enrollment for this year is slightly up by about 20 students.”
New development brings with it a potential source of revenue. The district receives a development impact fee directly from developers as part of their building permit. For commercial development, the district receives 47 cents per square foot. For residential development, the district receives $2.97 per square foot. This fee is evaluated on an annual basis, according to Burns.
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The district's governing board defines capacity goals on an annual basis - typically in March. “Before we accept new students,” Burns said, “we want to be sure there’s room in the neighborhood school of attendance.”
However, the goals serve primarily as planning tools and don’t apply to all classes. “There are variables involved, especially for electives at JM, and non-core classes, such as P.E.,” Burns points out.
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Class size reduction also sets capacity goals. In Kindergarten through third grade, the district is penalized if class size rises above 20 students in those grades.
“We are over capacity in second and fourth grade,” Burns said. “Based on the first five months of school, the trend in enrollment is increasing. Joaquin Moraga, for example, had 45 new students come in throughout the first five months of this year.”
However, Moraga schools do have some growing room.
“Currently, we have classrooms dedicated to science, art and music – no more ‘Art on the Cart.'" Burns pointed out. "As enrollment fluctuates, so does the repurposing of classrooms."
In addition, town planning officials state that impacts on schools must be analyzed in any impact document submitted to the town as part of the development process.
