Parkland’s administration and school board are engaged in an ongoing challenge to provide sufficient classroom space for the hundreds of new children moving into the district.

Although the school population has remained stable in the northern portion of Parkland, new housing developments in the southern section continue to crop up on what had been farmland in the southern areas.

Four years ago the district conducted a major redistricting project which involved moving some students northward to provide space for new arrivals in the south.

As the student enrollments at Jaindl, Fogelsville, Cetronia, and Parkway Manor hovered around 600, the board voted to build a new school, Veterans Memorial, to alleviate crowded conditions, to lower class sizes, and to eliminate the need for portable classrooms.

At the Oct. 15 meeting, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Rod Troutman commented on the need for the new school.

“The optimal number of students in the schools is 500,” Troutman said. “The class sizes will be better.

“We want our kids to be comfortable and safe. This will allow for more growth in the south.”

He noted the previous need to transfer students to northern schools.

“If redistricting had not been done in 2015, Jaindl and Fogelsville would [each] have 800,” Troutman noted.

He commended the foresight of district officials and the board who approved the additional school in the south.

“If we hadn’t built Veterans Memorial, we’d have to bus our kids all over,” Troutman said.

Instead of the single-family homes on large lots, which were typical in the past, new developments are often massive apartment complexes and town houses.

The Spring View project along Cetronia Road in South Whitehall includes 490 apartments.

Slightly to the west in Upper Macungie Township, west of Tilghman Street in a pocket along Werley Road is the fastest growing area of the school district, Troutman explained.

The section, also bordered by I-78, includes apartments and townhouses in the Parkland Reserve, Laurel Fields, Hidden Meadows, and Woodmount subdivisions.

He reported the housing units are going up fast and are attracting many young families with children to district schools.

The administration works with demographic consultant Decision Insite to monitor growth in the townships.

“Some developments get held up with problems, others speed along,” Troutman said.

He said administrators are currently watching two proposed large projects in South Whitehall - Ridge Farm with more than 700 housing units and Park View Inn site with more than 400 apartments planned.