The Lawrence school district continues to seek solutions for crowded classrooms and shifting student populations.

Julie Boyle, communications director for the district, said overcrowding was not a districtwide phenomenon but was limited to certain schools and classrooms.

“With enrollment declines in each of the last five years, crowding has not been as much of an issue for us,” Boyle said. “The challenge of accommodating shifting demographics continues to keep us on our toes, though.”

The boundary committee is studying student crowding at Deerfield School, the district’s largest elementary school. While no boundary changes were proposed for Deerfield in 2004-2005, the school board has taken steps to have two or three classrooms per grade level at elementary schools.

“We’re doing fine right now,” said Suzie Soyster, principal at Deerfield. “It’s working out fine where the kids are fitting into classrooms.”

Deerfield has four first-grade classes, four second-grade classes, and three classes each for third through sixth grades. Deerfield also has two morning and two afternoon kindergarten classes.

Despite being the largest elementary school, student population at Deerfield, 101 Lawrence Ave., was under district projections this year.

“Even with the arrival of a few new students, our student body is at 537 students opposed to the 547 the district thought we would have this year,” Soyster said. “Next year, we are losing about 80 sixth-graders. Our projections for the 2004-2005 school year were 532.”

The largest classes at Deerfield are two fifth- and sixth-grade classes, with 27 students each.

Space is more of an issue at South Junior High School, 2734 La., where portable buildings house 11 classrooms, a solution district officials call a temporary fix.

“The way to address this issue is to build more permanent space,” Boyle said.

In addition, she said dependence on portable buildings was an ongoing problem and that a future bond proposal would likely be needed to address the issue.

In April 2003, Lawrence voters rejected a $59 million bond proposal for school construction and renovation.

Russell Blackbird, principal at South Junior High, also has taken steps to ease crowding at his school. He has created another roving teacher position at the junior high, which now has three teachers who move from classroom to classroom during the day.

“Teachers all have a planning period sometime in their day, so for at least one period that classroom will be empty,” he said. “Having classes taught in those empty rooms allows us to utilize more space.”

Boyle said the district continued to seek solutions for additional space needs at the junior highs, and that boundary changes would not solve these problems.