What should you do if your schools are overcrowded?

We know! We know! The answer is build more houses!

Fremont school officials warn of worse overcrowding if development goes ahead

By Chris De Benedetti, The Argus
POSTED:   08/03/2013 12:00:00 AM PDT

FREMONT — Builders of the Patterson Ranch subdivision are expected to break ground next year, but school district officials fret that its 500 new homes will add more students than nearby schools can handle, worsening the Ardenwood neighborhood schools’ already major overcrowding problem.

"Our goal is to provide neighborhood school seats for kids, so that they can attend school close to where they live, as opposed to being shipped across town," said Fremont school superintendent James Morris. "We don’t want to tell families that their children have to go to different schools."

But that’s exactly what might happen to families who will buy homes in Patterson Ranch, where the nearest elementary schools already are overflowing. The district’s newest K-12 campus was built a quarter-century ago.

Student enrollment in the district’s 41 schools is 33,000, and steadily rising. Last year alone, Fremont Unified increased by 600 students, district officials said. That was a sharp spike from the past half decade, when enrollment grew 300 students each year. Rising enrollment can be "a good problem," Morris said, but it also poses severe challenges to North Fremont parents.

70% of Fremont residents, according to Friends of Coyote Hills, are against more development near Coyote Hills. That’s why all five Fremont City Council Members okayed building another 500 homes in the 100 acre area (marked in red on the map we included and the Murky News didn’t).

One thing we found interesting is the family selling the land is only being asked for $6 million for the school district, while it will cost $22 million to build another school for the new homes.  This sounds like a great deal, as long as you’re not a) the Fremont School District or b) living in Fremont (unless your name is Patterson).

Like they said, “a good problem.” Can’t wait for the overbidding!