Over the last five years, Auburn City Schools has been the fastest growing school system in Alabama, averaging 350-400 new students each year.
According to Karen DeLano, the superintendent, the average elementary school has 400-500 kids, so each year the school system is basically adding another elementary school worth of students to the system.
In order to satisfy the demand of more students, the school system will be growing, adding a new high school projected to open in fall of 2017.
The new high school, which will be located on East Samford Avenue, will become grades 10-12, making the current high school grades eight-nine, the junior high grade seven and the middle school grade six.
DeLano said the need for the new high school did not have to do with actual high school population. She said the most crowded grades tend to be the junior high and middle school grades, and the new high school will allow for each congested grade to have its own building.
Andrew Cummings, Auburn High School graduate and sophomore in building science, said he felt the new high school will open up much-needed room in the jam-packed junior high and high schools.
Cummings also said he thought the new location of the school would allow traffic to be spread out, as opposed to in one spot. He also said it would bring the high school closer to the school’s football stadium.
DeLano said the school receives funding from both state and local support.
“We don’t control our funding, just how we use it,” DeLano said.
Every year, the school system receives a number of how many kids are enrolled and receives money from the state based on the previous year's number, DeLano said.
For a school system growing as fast as Auburn City Schools, DeLano said this becomes a problem.
Last year, the school system had 300 new students, but did not receive any additional money for those students because its funding was based on the year before.
To help with this issue, DeLano said the city of Auburn provides some of the millage tax to the city schools, helping pay for the increase in students.
“This community has always been supportive of education,” DeLano said.
In the years to come, Auburn City Schools is estimated to have 1,000 kids per grade level in the next 6-8 years. DeLano said in the chance that this happens, the school board is prepared to build a second high school in 2024.
“Our success comes from trying to find the right fit for all of our children,” DeLano said.
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