North Star scouts for overcrowding fix

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Parents at North Star Elementary School in Albuquerque Acres are getting a phone call telling them the school is experiencing more than average numbers of students.

The Albuquerque Public Schools district had project 705 students, and as of Thursday 747 were enrolled.

Parents say overcrowding has been a problem at the school since it opened six years ago, and APS is scrambling for solutions.

North Star is one of the top-ranked elementary schools in the district. Some of the immediate fixes are splitting classrooms and turning work spaces into classrooms.

APS is also offering limited transfers to Double Eagle Elementary about two miles east of North Star. There will be openings in kindergarten, second and fourth grade classes.

Buses will be provided.

APS said there were factors it didn't count on like young families moving back in with parents or other family members.

Another issue may be parents taking their kids out of private schools. That could be due to the economy, but it could also have to do with the fact that North Star has consistently scored as one of the top schools in the district.

APS says portable classrooms are not an option because there's no space. And it would cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

The district is planning community meetings sometime next month to potentially change school boundaries in the area.