The outlook: 2 Meridian high schools with 600 students too many. What will West Ada do?

Rachel Spacek
Darin Oswald/doswald@idahostatesman.com

It’s no secret that Meridian’s population is growing. And so is the city’s school district, West Ada.

As families flock to Meridian, West Ada, Idaho’s largest school district, is expecting many of its Meridian schools to be crowded next school year.

In Meridian, West Ada has 15 elementary schools, five middle schools and four traditional high schools each with at least 1,700 students. In a presentation to the Meridian City Council on Tuesday, Marcie Horner, the district’s planning coordinator, predicted enrollment totals for the 2023-24 and 2024-25 school years. She said two of Meridian’s high schools will be over capacity by a combined total of nearly 600 students:

  • Mountain View High School, in southeast Meridian, is projected to be 370 students overcapacity.

  • Owyhee High School, a new school built in 2020 in northeast Meridian, is projected to be 216 students overcapacity.

Horner also identified some elementary school “hot spots,” where the district is either monitoring enrollment totals closely or making changes to buildings to support higher enrollment totals. There are three elementary school “hot spots” in Meridian, according to the district.

  • Chaparral Elementary, in central Meridian, is projected to be almost 30 students over capacity next school year. There, Jonathan Gillen, West Ada chief of operations, said the district plans to convert a computer lab into another classroom.

  • Hillsdale Elementary, in South Meridian, is expected to be 34 students over capacity. Gillen said the district plans to bring a new portable classroom.

  • Mary McPherson Elementary, in South Meridian, is projected to be 22 students over capacity. Gillen said the district will monitor the growth in the area, because it has the capacity to handle the enrollment increases.

West Ada is not alone in dealing with enrollment concerns. One Vallivue elementary school is 235 students over capacity in Nampa. Across Canyon County, the Vallivue School District is asking cities for a slowdown in development, since the district’s last two bond measures to build new schools failed in elections.

In Kuna and Vallivue, school districts are asking developers to donate money or land to help build future schools. Meridian Councilman Luke Cavenar asked superintendent Derek Bub if West Ada is considering asking for similar donations. Bub said the district wouldn’t need to.

“That’s not a road that we’re ready to go down,” Bub said. “We work hand in hand with our developers. They have done a great job of donating land when we need it or giving us land at an affordable cost to be able to build schools.”

West Ada has gone to voters many times over the years to pay for new schools as the district’s population has grown. The most recent request, approved by voters in 2018, was for a $95 million bond issue for two new schools.

The council and West Ada school board trustees are scheduled to meet for a more detailed discussion about a possible bond issue or other funding mechanism on Thursday, Feb. 23. By then, Bub said he will have a better idea of the expenses and building needs of the district.

The West Ada School District has 40,000 students in 58 schools across Meridian, Eagle, Star and in west Ada County.

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