School enrollment
August 13th, 2008 by 
Alica
In recent years, the Brandon Valley School district has seen an annual increase of 100 to 125 in student growth. This year, it looks like the district will gain about 42 or a few more.
What accounts for that, do you think? Single family dwelling building permits are down in Brandon, too. Is it because of the slow housing market right now? Are high gas prices forcing people to stay where they are?
Maybe the Internet is to blame. Maybe so many people are telecommuting these days, there is no need to move for a job.
Brandon Valley always has had an excellent reputation. Could it be that reputation is slipping?
I’m not saying any of these reasons is the correct one. I’m just brainstorming. What possible reasons can you think of as to why the increase is less this year?
What are the benefits of gaining fewer students this year? What are the drawbacks?
Posted in Uncategorized | 
August 14th, 2008 at 11:57 am
I am sure the lower numbers are because of the perceived economic slowdown. People are just staying put in their current homes until they feel the economy is picking up.
It might be OK for the school district as it will give them a breather and give them a chance to catch up on growth. Hopefully, it is a short term situation and not a long term problem.
As far a reputation goes, Brandon schools do have a wonderful reputation for education. They, unfortunatley, also have a negative reputation when it comes to “cliques”, “rich kids”, “selective” participation in athletics, and alcohol & drug use.
I also wonder if several years ago people moved here because Brandon was smaller and had that “hometown” feel. That is not the case so much anymore.