January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
January 17, 2013 PDF Edition - Wilbraham-Hampden Times
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<strong>January</strong> <strong>17</strong>, 013 The <strong>Wilbraham</strong>-<strong>Hampden</strong> TIMES<br />
Page<br />
Study shows school enrollment declining<br />
Should Memorial School<br />
be retained for future?<br />
By Janet Wise<br />
Turley Publications Correspondent<br />
WILBRAHAM – A recent demographic<br />
study for the School District<br />
found that in recent years the district’s enrollment<br />
has been declining, and the New<br />
England School Development Council is<br />
forecasting that the enrollment will continue<br />
to decline.<br />
However, the study indicated that<br />
any forecast is most reliable in the first<br />
five years, and that in years six to 10 years<br />
enrollment may flatten or even begin to<br />
increase.<br />
The Council (NESDEC) recently<br />
completed a demography and facilities<br />
usage study for the <strong>Hampden</strong>-<strong>Wilbraham</strong><br />
Regional School District and presented<br />
that portion of the results to the school<br />
committee at their Jan. 8 meeting.<br />
John Kennedy of NESDEC addressed<br />
the school committee, focusing primarily<br />
on the demographic information and its<br />
impact on enrollment trends going forward<br />
in the district. Kennedy will present the facilities<br />
usage portion of the presentation at<br />
a future school committee meeting.<br />
The demographic study was conducted<br />
by examining a number of different<br />
sources, including U.S. Census<br />
Sliding into <strong>2013</strong>…<br />
Village<br />
F O O D M A R T<br />
43 SOMERS ROAD • HAMPDEN, MA • 566-87<strong>17</strong><br />
Hours: Mon-Wed 8-6;<br />
Thurs & Fri 8-7; Sat 8-6; Sun 8-1<br />
$ 3 99<br />
lb.<br />
data from 1990, 2000, and 2010, as well<br />
as housing data from the Warren Group,<br />
the local planning department, Realtors,<br />
the building inspector, and information<br />
gained from a conference of the New<br />
England Economic Partnership in December<br />
2012.<br />
Common Trend<br />
Historically, including non-resident<br />
enrollments, enrollment in the district<br />
from kindergarten through grade 12 has<br />
declined significantly in the past decade,<br />
with an overall decline of more than 10<br />
percent. Most of this decline occurred in<br />
grades K through 6, with grades 9 through<br />
12 enrollments remaining fairly stable.<br />
Kennedy reported that this trend is fairly<br />
common in New England.<br />
Looking at the birth rate compared to<br />
kindergarten enrollment, the school district’s<br />
enrollment exceeds the birth rate,<br />
which indicates that people are moving<br />
into the community, quite possibly because<br />
the school system has a good reputation.<br />
When examining projected enrollment,<br />
which again includes non-resident,<br />
choice-based students, there is a projected<br />
decline of 14 percent in the next decade.<br />
This decline is expected to occur primarily<br />
at the new Minnechaug Regional<br />
High school, rather than at the elementary<br />
school.<br />
Kennedy, however, pointed out that<br />
the new high school is quite possibly going<br />
to draw people into the community;<br />
IN-STORE<br />
BAKERY<br />
HOT FOODS<br />
CATERING<br />
TIMES photo submitted<br />
A large group of youngsters slide into <strong>2013</strong> on New Year’s Day at <strong>Wilbraham</strong><br />
& Monson Academy in the photo taken by Tammy Garvey.<br />
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Patties<br />
$ 3 99<br />
lb.<br />
We do not use pre-ground meat!<br />
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Top Round<br />
Stew<br />
Beef $ 39 4 lb.<br />
California<br />
Strawberries<br />
1 Lb<br />
Container $ 99 2 each<br />
Large Navel<br />
Oranges<br />
2/ ¢ 99 99<br />
“Super Spud”<br />
Idaho<br />
Potatoes<br />
5 Lb Bag<br />
each<br />
Store Made Store Baked Wilson<br />
Fresh<br />
Roast<br />
Deli<br />
Fruit $ 99 Beef $ 99 Ham<br />
Salad 3 Certified Angus Beef 6 $ 99 3<br />
Hot Roast Beef Store Made<br />
Grinder Mac &<br />
$ 49 Cheese 4+ Tax<br />
Large<br />
Brownies<br />
Kaiser 6/$ 99 2/ ¢<br />
Rolls 1 99 ¢<br />
U S D A C H O I C E B O N E L E S S<br />
Sirloin Steak Chuck<br />
or Spoon Pot<br />
Roast $ 99 Roast 5 lb.<br />
$ 99 3 lb.<br />
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Tips $ 99 5 lb.<br />
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Waybest<br />
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BAKERY<br />
Specials Good From <strong>January</strong> <strong>17</strong> - <strong>January</strong> 23, <strong>2013</strong><br />
www.villagefoodhampden.com<br />
as he put it, “nobody is going to drive<br />
through the community and say ‘gee, we<br />
don’t want our children going to that high<br />
school.’”<br />
While the NESDEC study forecast<br />
that in the relative short term (i.e., next<br />
five years) enrollment in the district will<br />
continue to decline, it also offered up the<br />
possibility that in the latter half of the next<br />
decade, enrollment may actually increase.<br />
The factors behind this increase, according<br />
to Kennedy, are two-fold: First,<br />
near the end of the decade, the child-rearing<br />
cohort, or group of people of childbearing<br />
age, may very well increase,<br />
causing the birth rate to rise. In addition,<br />
there’s a distinct possibility that there’s a<br />
significant potential for residential growth,<br />
either because of the turnover of housing<br />
or new construction.<br />
Kennedy pointed out that in both<br />
<strong>Hampden</strong> and <strong>Wilbraham</strong>, the current median<br />
age of the population is relatively old<br />
– over age 45 – compared to the state or<br />
even the country. This will have an impact<br />
down the road.<br />
Empty Nesters<br />
Many of those age 45 plus in the<br />
community are empty nesters, living in<br />
homes with three or four bedrooms, and<br />
many are looking to downsize. Housing<br />
prices are starting to rebound, and there<br />
are age-restricted condominium complexes<br />
in both <strong>Hampden</strong> and <strong>Wilbraham</strong>,<br />
such as The Gardens of <strong>Wilbraham</strong> or Tall<br />
Pines in <strong>Hampden</strong>, which offer local baby<br />
<strong>Hampden</strong>-<strong>Wilbraham</strong> Regional School District<br />
621 Main Street, <strong>Wilbraham</strong>, MA 01095<br />
KINDERGARTEN REGISTRATION<br />
<strong>Hampden</strong>-<strong>Wilbraham</strong> Regional School District Kindergarten registration<br />
will be held at Green Meadows School in <strong>Hampden</strong> on<br />
Tuesday, March 5, <strong>2013</strong>, from 1:00 to 6:00 p.m. and Thursday,<br />
March 7, <strong>2013</strong>, from 9:00 to 11:00 a.m.,and at Mile Tree School in<br />
<strong>Wilbraham</strong> on Tuesday, March 5, <strong>2013</strong>, and Wednesday, March 6,<br />
<strong>2013</strong>, from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m. by appointment only. Children eligible<br />
to begin kindergarten for the <strong>2013</strong>-2014 school year must be five<br />
years of age on or before August 31, <strong>2013</strong>. Parents must bring their<br />
child’s original birth certificate, health records, and appropriate<br />
legal documents to registration. Kindergarten screening will take<br />
place at a later date. Both schools will begin accepting Kindergarten<br />
registration appointments on February 1, <strong>2013</strong>. For further information<br />
and to make your kindergarten registration appointment<br />
<strong>Hampden</strong> residents may call Green Meadows School at 566-3263<br />
and <strong>Wilbraham</strong> residents may call Mile Tree School at 596-6921.<br />
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boomers the ability to downsize yet still<br />
remain nearby friends and family.<br />
The NESDEC study suggests that the<br />
houses vacated by baby boomers will then<br />
be purchased by families with school-age<br />
children, particularly since the school<br />
system has a good reputation and there is<br />
a new high school in place, which could<br />
very well increase the enrollment in the<br />
latter half of the decade.<br />
Kennedy also pointed out that there is<br />
an amount of buildable acreage available<br />
in both communities, and also indicated<br />
that a casino is a distinct possibility in the<br />
Springfield area, which would stimulate<br />
economic and residential growth.<br />
Given all of these factors, the NES-<br />
DEC study suggests that enrollment in the<br />
district may potentially increase at some<br />
point in the next decade.<br />
The study’s capacity enrollment<br />
analysis points to a scarcity of space at the<br />
elementary level in the remainder of the<br />
decade, so even if enrollment does not increase,<br />
space will be tight. And if enrollment<br />
does increase, based on the factors<br />
pointed out by Kennedy in his presentation,<br />
there is a need to maintain reserve<br />
capacity.<br />
The upshot of all of this and the recommendation<br />
of the NESDEC study is<br />
that the Memorial School be retained for<br />
future use by the school district.<br />
Correspondent Janet Wise can be<br />
reached at j_mac4@hotmail.com<br />
Red Hats lunch meeting Feb. 12<br />
WILBRAHAM – The Red Hat Ya Ya<br />
Sisterhood of <strong>Wilbraham</strong> will meet on a<br />
Tuesday, Feb. 12 instead of a Wednesday<br />
because of Ash Wednesday. Called “Let’s<br />
Do Lunch”, they will order off the menu<br />
at Krazy Jakes on Boston Road in Wilbra-<br />
ham beginning at 12:30 p.m.<br />
If you are ordering seafood, let the<br />
chairladies know when making reservations:<br />
Ginene Johnson at 525-4969 or<br />
Ginni McCombe at 525-2916. The deadline<br />
for reservations is Jan. 31.<br />
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