PATASKALA, OH (WCMH) — Despite recently passing a levy that will allow new schools to be built, the Licking Heights School District is still concerned about an overcrowding issue in its schools.
LHHS Administrator Dr. Phillip Wagner tells NBC4 that dense housing developments in the city of Pataskala are threatening to once again overcrowd schools in the district.
“Right now, some of those aspects of developments aren’t as predictable or they are exceeding our expectations,” Dr. Wagner says of the city’s growth. “If it becomes too dense too fast, it puts stress on our enrollment programs because it’s going to overcrowd our buildings even further.”
The school district has been working with the city to monitor the growth rates.
“I know at the rate that people want to build here, want to come here, we’re probably past that,” says Pataskala City Administrator B.J. King. “”We’re constantly working with them to figure out, ‘How can we manage that?’”
Dr. Wagner says the district expects to grow by 150 students per year for at least the next seven years.