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ECISD Overcrowding, Some Campuses Close for Registration
ECISD Overcrowding, Some Campuses Closed for Registration 8/2/12
CBS 7 News
schilders@cbs7.com
August 2, 2012
ODESSA, TX - Ector County ISD has closed registration for one elementary school after just one day.
"We after the first day of registration have closed that campus," said David Finley the Chief Operations Officer for ECISD.
Tuesday's turn out at the school in West Odessa overwhelmed and surpassed district expectations.
"We've never seen those numbers before so this is very dramatic in this district."
Cavazos isn't the only school ready to bust at the seems, on the very northern edge of Odessa sits Jordan Elementary School, where they're expecting close to 1,000 students on the first day of school.
"It is a problem, mainly because those schools were built for about 700, so we have to make more arrangements to help those kids."
Finley says the big numbers come from a combination of new students to the district and a movement of families to the west and north sides of town.
The obvious fix of adding more classrooms isn't an option because of existing infrastructure.
"We can move portable buildings out to Jordan to house all the students, but those central core areas like kitchens, cafeterias, restrooms were designed for 700-750."
Leaving the question of what to do next as the district watches the growth become a trend.
"There is black and white data in place that shows the need for some facility adjustment and that is what we have to discuss."
ECISD says they are trying to do everything they can to accommodate families in these neighborhoods, who now have to transfer schools.