Collierville Schools is studying its future and whether it is poised to absorb the increase in enrollment as the town grows.

To properly educate students, appropriate space is needed. The district hired Tampa-based MGT Consulting to analyze projected growth in the district and the suitability of the current buildings for accommodating the expected number of students. Preliminary results were shared last Tuesday night, Feb. 21, with community members, Collierville Schools Board of Education and staff, including Town Administrator Molly Mehner.

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“You all have a fantastic school district,” Lance Richards, MGT’s manager of education solutions group, said. “And you have some the best facilities I have ever been through. The things that we are going to talk about, the issues you face, are challenges that other districts would pray for.”

The town’s planning department shared data to help consultants with their analysis. Richards shared numbers through 2032.

“We project strong solid growth but not exponential,” he said.

However, the growth isn’t anticipated to change much after 2029, and Collierville is expected to have a population of about 58,503 by 2030, according to town officials. That’s about 7,200 more than in 2021, the most recent U.S. Census data.

Based on the data shared, the district’s total enrollment projections didn’t exceed 10,000 from 2030-2032. Richards noted the outer years are slightly less certain as unexpected factors could change the forecasts.

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“You can’t look too far ahead because you don’t know what the economy is going to do, what BlueOval City is going to do to this region,” Board Chairman Wright Cox said.

Enrollment projections, the utilization of buildings and the facilities assessment MGT performed are all intertwined.

Richards said most of the schools are operating with adequate space for their current enrollment. Crosswind Elementary is approaching capacity. Current enrollment is about 708, and the capacity is 720. On the other end, Tara Oaks Elementary has 664 students with room for 869.

“It looks like their numbers are going to be fairly consistent in terms of development, in terms of density,” Richards said.

Meanwhile, Sycamore Elementary has 596 students with room for an additional 304. He expects that school to continue to grow.

Richards mentioned rezoning as a possibility to utilize the space, but such a decision would come at the district level. However, community members attending Tuesday’s session preferred rezoning before investing in the cost of building a new school.

He also looked at building conditions, sustainability, the ease of integrating technological advances and campus conditions. Bailey Station Elementary and Collierville Elementary were slightly below the rest, but Richards wanted to ease those concerns.

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While those two schools have 20-year-old roofs, they are not leaking — yet. But they will continue to deteriorate, and the district will face the cost soon.

“If you have a 25-year-old roof at home, you better be saving money for the roof you will be putting on because you will be putting on a new roof,” Richards said. “It’s far more expensive than the last one you put on.”

He said the same holds true for the HVAC system.

As part of Tuesday’s session, there was time dedicated to community input. Parents complimented Collierville on communication and the sense of community, academics and testing. Parents present believed the district could improve class sizes, mental health support and equity in funding. A repeated request by those present was for a pool for the district’s swimming athletes.

The information will be helpful moving forward, Cox said, as the board makes the best decision with the data provided by district staff.

“We take that information, plus the information we get from the community — our stakeholders — their input, their feedback, their thoughts,” Cox said. “All that together will help us as we look forward to what we need to do.”

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