STAR, Idaho — More students in Star and soon a new school? There's no denying the small city has seen tremendous growth in recent years and now, school leaders are talking about how it's impacting student enrollment and how that impacts plans for the future of the district.
According to the US Census Bureau, the city's population nearly doubled between 2010 and 2020, growing from fewer than 6,000 residents to more than 11,000. Between 2020 and 2023, another 5,000 people decided to call Star home. The growth hasn't stopped since then but Star students have been left with the same number of schools.
"We definitely are up. we started with about 90 more students than last year," says Star Elementary Principal Todd Adams.
As of this week, 752 students are enrolled at Star Elementary School, where Principal Adams says they've done all they can to accommodate incoming students. But, it's getting overwhelming.
"We have absolutely no classrooms left. In all of our meeting spaces, we've got people doubled up in offices and got more portables last year," adds Adams. "Two portables turned into four more classrooms. Even those classrooms were completely full."
Even Star Middle has seen almost 40 new students enroll since the start of the school year.
"It really does have an impact on that one-on-one time where the teachers can meet the students where they are at," explained the principal.
However, for the first time in nearly 50 years, a new elementary school may come into the picture. West Ada School District officials tell me they are proposing to build a brand new 700-student capacity elementary school on the land right across from Star Middle that could open as soon as 2026.
Adams smiled saying, "Once that school opens up, you would anticipate that it would take at least a couple hundred off us. It's also going to take some from the other schools like Pleasent View and Eagle Elementary."
The Star City Council will discuss the new school at a meeting next month, and if approved, we could see the school break ground this fall.
