Placer County population explosion leads to dire need for more schools
ROSEVILLE – While there are conversations about Californians leaving the Golden State, a county is seeing a different sort of trend.
Census data shows Placer County is becoming a desirable spot for families, especially those with young children.
First-day excitement surrounds Westbrook Elementary School in west Roseville.
"My kids were up pretty much all night in anticipation of coming to school," said Traci Davis, president of the parent-teacher club. "They watched it being built from the ground up."
On day one, it welcomed about 540 students with room to have up to 800 kids.
Principal Jessica Brooks expects to fill those spots.
"I do and we were opened in hopes of relieving some of [the] other schools out here in west Roseville and it has relieved but they are still very big schools," she said.
The rise of construction projects supports the new population numbers.
"Like clockwork, every single month, Roseville has about 25 to 30 percent of all the newly constructed homes in the region," said Ryan Lundquist, a housing analyst.
More families mean more schools will be needed. For example, the Roseville City School District is growing rapidly to accommodate 16,000 students in the future.
How?
According to a spokesperson, it plans to build four more schools: three elementary and one middle school.
It currently serves 12,000 students and has approximately 1,200 employees.
Some areas in Placer County are growing more than others. For example, the Roseville district reports enrollment is declining in the east and center parts of town.
But on the west side, there has been plenty of growth.
"With all the new homes that are being built out in Westpark, we have a lot of bay area people wanting to come up this way," said realtor Jason Perrone.
But it is not just Bay Area families trading zip codes for Placer County, it is also people throughout greater Sacramento, and some do not mind getting the word out.
"It's definitely a great place to live," said Brandy Jeffries, a parent. "I hope a lot of people come here."
