MISD Moves to Add Portables at IMS, Elementary Schools

The announced plans to install six more portable classrooms to handle expected increases in K-8 enrollment over the next two years, according to a press release.

MISD Chief Financial Officer Dean Mack said and lack of classroom space require portables to be sited at at , and , increasing the MISD's number of portable classrooms from 26 to 32.

“Due to our current facility limitations, we must move to provide classroom space for students projected to arrive on our doorstep in September, 2012," Mack said. "This growth in student population was forecast in our long-range enrollment projections.”

The "double-wide" portable classroom buildings will each hold two classrooms and have a capacity of 40 students and will be placed on the school campuses this summer. Mack said he expected an enrollment increase of 70 more elementary students and an increase of 40 more middle school-aged students by 2014. The district's current enrollment "headcount" was 4,205 on Oct. 1, 2011.

According to the district, no additional capacity will be added to West Mercer Elementary School because the school is already 40 percent above design capacity — it was designed for 480 students, but 670 are currently enrolled there. Island Park's design capacity is 430 students, but currently holds 550 students; Lakeridge was designed for 455 but now has 600 students; and Islander Middle School, designed for 850, now holds 1,007 students.

The last time a portable was added to a school was in 2010 when the district added one portable classroom to West Mercer.

The press release also states that the MISD is presently working the regarding the locations of the portable classrooms. The District projects that it will need to site the elementary portables on impervious surfaces, such as playgrounds, and the middle school portable will be placed on the campus in an area where a previous portable was once located.

"This is not a new conversation," said Mack. "It's been going on for a number of years now. The only thing that has changed is time."