An examination of the relationship between suburban school construction and school enrollment

The purpose of this thesis was to examine the impact of suburban school construction on public school district enrollment. A determination of a direct, positive relationship could shed light on the effect of public schools on urban migration patterns. It could also provide public school administrators with information regarding planning post-construction staffing. In-depth data and information were collected with regard to three New York State suburban school districts that showed interesting trends in both school construction and enrollment patterns. A thorough enrollment study was conducted on these three school districts. Enrollment and school construction information was collected from 13 additional New York State suburban school districts that had experienced significant construction during the 1990's. A statistical study, comparing district-wide enrollment patterns with construction dates, was done for 15 school districts. The study found a significant positive relationship between school construction and post-construction district-wide enrollment only when the construction project was district-wide. There was no identifiable relationship between post-construction districtwide enrollment and large construction projects involving individual schools. There are two primary possible explanations for the results. One possibility is that district-wide projects gamer enough attention to affect the housing and/or school enrollment decisions of suburban families. A second likely cause is that there was a drop in enrollment during the construction with those students returning to the public schools following construction. There is some, but far from conclusive, evidence for the second explanation in the data. No significant data was gathered with respect to the previous enrollment of the post-construction new students. The intent of this thesis was to establish a link between enrollment levels and school construction, providing the basis for a study of the origin of post-construction enrollees. The findings do indicate that suburban school administrators should be prepared for a moderate spike in enrollment following district-wide construction projects.