Enrollment in North Summit School District has not seen any surprises for a while.
This year the district has 1,011 students, up slightly from last year’s 1,007, reported Superintendent Steve Carlson. The numbers are not dramatically different from when Carlson said he started working for the district as a principal approximately eight years ago and enrollment was at 1,020.
He added that during his career enrollment has dropped as low approximately 990 but in the last few years there has been a steady incline.
“We’ve had a real steady percent or less growth in the past years,” Carlson said.
He anticipates a significant jump in the upcoming years if a large subdivision in the area gets underway. If built, it will accommodate up to 100 families.
“It’s still in the planning stages they haven’t even lifted a load of dirt yet,” he said.
He also noted that North Summit is the most inexpensive area to live in in Summit County, which has caused a few people to relocate to the area. He estimated the average price of a home is in the $200,000 range which makes it an attractive option for people who work in Park City but do not want to pay the high housing costs.
With the potential of a new subdivision and more people relocating there from Park City, Carlson said the area is prepared for the growth.
“Even if we got a new subdivision it would be in the range of 200 kids,” he said.
A new middle school was recently completed in the district, along with an addition to the elementary school.
“We think that when we built the new building we felt like we could handle another 300-450 kids,” Carlson said.
The district averages about 75 students per grade level, with some fluctuations in size.
Last year the senior class had 62 students and the kindergarten class which just started has 70 students. At the elementary level, kindergarten through fourth grade the student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1. Both the middle school and the high school have a student to teacher ration of 21:1.