A recent demographic study presented to the Hollister School District and its board of education projects a steady increase in student enrollment over the next seven years, mostly due to new home construction.
The Fall 2018-19 Demographics Study—which projects through the 2024-25 school year—was conducted by Davis Demographics and presented at the July 23 school board meeting.
The student projections were based on fall 2018 student data and area development projects and plans.
An estimated 2,888 mixed housing units could be constructed over the next seven years in the TK-8 district, according to findings in the study.
Hollister schools in the district are expected to grow by 492 students (8.1 percent) by fall 2025.
“Growth is expected within the Hollister School District at the TK-5 grades and stability at the 6-8 grades,” the study summarizes. “This potential increase in enrollment is due to the new housing sales that may occur over the next seven years.”
The study also takes into account a decrease in births and losing students when families move out of the area, which “is keeping the growth less than previously reported.”
Hollister school officials have already begun to accommodate an increasing enrollment with plans to build a new $51 million primary school in the Santana Ranch Development.
Rancho Santana School is slated to be completed by January 2021. It will sit on a 12-acre parcel of land, purchased by the district for $5 million, off Fairview and Sunnyslope Roads at 1454 Santana Ranch Drive.
The new campus, which will be the district’s ninth elementary school, has five different funding sources, including two bonds ($36.2 million from Measure V and $3.4 million from Measure M) and nearly $10 million in developer fees.
The Hollister district currently enrolls about 5,500 students.
