How Should GBN and GBS Handle Increased Enrollment Disparity?

Over the coming years, the student populations at Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South are going to get more uneven, with up to a 1,300 student difference before the gap narrows again. Independent demographers have confirmed this prediction, the district said in a press release Tuesday.

“The student attendance areas were built on a communities of interest philosophy that Glenview students attend GBS and Northbrook students attend GBN,” Superintendent Mike Riggle said in the release. “The real question becomes, do we still believe in that philosophy and if so, to what extent do we act to preserve that concept and the high quality educational opportunities that the Glenbrooks provide.”

The district addresses this issue on an FAQ page on its website:

Has the District 225 Board of Education made a decision to change the school attendance areas?
No. The Board of Education is carefully studying enrollment projections to determine if any actions will be needed in the future to alleviate future capacity challenges at Glenbrook South. There are many solutions to this issue and while the Board can’t entirely rule out a future boundary change as a potential solution, no determinations have been made.

What do you think: How should the schools handle that disparity? Should school enrollment boundaries be changed? 

The Glenbrook High School District 225 Board of Education received student enrollment projections from two independent demographers at its regular meeting on Monday, March 17.  The studies were commissioned to validate district projections and to further investigate changing student populations at GBN and GBS over time.

“We have been carefully monitoring the projected growing enrollment at GBS for the past 12 years, and wanted to validate what our own data was showing,” said Superintendent Dr. Mike Riggle. “The challenge when analyzing student populations is that beyond three-to-five years,the accuracy of enrollment projections begins to decline.”

Demographers Dr. Charles Kofron and Dr. Jerome McKibben were hired to provide 10-year enrollment projections for Glenbrook North and Glenbrook South. Both demographers confirmed that the student enrollment at GBN will continue to decrease, while GBS’s population will continue to increase, stabilize, and then decrease over the next 10 years. At its height, the enrollment difference between the two schools may vary by as much as 1,200-1,300 students before it begins to narrow. Currently the difference in enrollment between GBN and GBS is approximately 700 students.

“The student attendance areas were built on a communities of interest philosophy that Glenview students attend GBS and Northbrook students attend GBN,” said Riggle. “The real question becomes, do we still believe in that philosophy and if so, to what extent do we act to preserve that concept and the high quality educational opportunities that the Glenbrooks provide.”

The Board expects to continue its discussion of the enrollment projections at the meeting on Monday, April 8.  Community residents who would like to provide comments on the topic may do so by visiting the district or school websites and utilizing the input form. (www.glenbrook225.org/district/About-District-225/Enrollment)

“The Board and administration will continue to monitor and evaluate this complex challenge on a regular basis,” said Board President Skip Shein. “Should we determine that alternative solutions are needed, we will seek input from our community prior to making any major decisions.”