The findings of a study on school size underscores what the School Board has been saying all along: smaller is better.
The School Board's Finance, Construction, Site Acquisition Committee conducted research on the matter in light of budget concerns over the escalating cost of building new schools. Loudoun County has 61 schools, and plans to open three schools this fall. Another 22 are slated for construction in the next five years.
High schools in Loudoun are built for 1,600 students, middle schools for 1,200, and elementary schools for 800. The School Board added four classrooms to future elementary schools, raising the capacity from 800 to 900.
Robert DuPree Jr., committee chairman, said Loudoun builds schools to last for decades. "Any decision will have a short-term cost impact and a long-term educational impact. That's why we want to make sure we do the right thing."
ONE PART of the report compares Stone Bridge High School, with 1,442 students, to Westfield High School in Chantilly, Fairfax County, with 2,753 students. The Standards of Learning (SOL) pass rate was higher at Stone Bridge. The comparison showed a 93 percent pass rate in English at Stone Bridge compared to 90 percent at Westfield. In Math, Stone Bridge's pass rate for mathematics was 83 percent compared to Westfield's 81 percent. There were similar results in history and science.
There was a wide discrepancy in the number of fights, with 15 at Stone Bridge compared to 60 at Westfield. Stone Bridge had two serious incidents compared to 9 at Westfield. Stone Bridge had four weapon incidents while Westfield fared better with 2 weapon incidents.
The dropouts at Stone Bridge were 54 compared to 98 at Westfield.
Evan Mohler, assistant superintendent of support services, said the report dispels the misconception that building two schools with 2,400 students in each would be an enormous cost saver compared to building three schools with 1600 students in each. You would not save the cost of the third school, because extra space would be needed for the cafeteria and additional rooms, he said.
There's also a space issue with building two-story schools as opposed to one-story, he said. The report shows building two-story schools requires extra space for stair wells, elevators, generators to support the elevators, storage space for American Disabilities Act emergency equipment. "All of that takes money and space," he said. "You're not saving money."
IT IS A COST SAVINGS in cities where the price of land is so prohibitive that it makes sense to build up instead of out. "There may come a time when the cost will be so high, it would be cheaper to go up," he said.
Dupree said the committee would continue to meet and learn whether Loudoun can improve on the size and design of its school buildings. Saving money is one thing, but preserving the quality of education is paramount, he said.
Stephan Knobloch, research supervisor, School Board's Office of Research, Department of Instruction, concluded:
· Size has a significant influence on average levels of learning.
· Size is a significant fact in academic achievement.
· Size is more important to learning in schools that enroll socially disadvantaged students.
Mohler said the report is incomplete. "We are going to add to it," he said. "The School Board members want to write their observations."
DuPree said the committee would develop a set of recommendations before the board works on the Capital Improvement Program in November.