The Avon Maitland District School Board's newest enrollment projection shows the student body stabilizing after some years of decreasing.
Hugh Cox is the Facilities Administrator for the board and says consultants looked at historical enrolment through Canadian census date and local planners to develop the projections.
“We've had quite a period from the early two-thousands, We had a lot of decline in elementary and we're still seeing the tail end of that decline in secondary now and then it looks as though we're going to be relatively stable and actually have a few areas of growth,” said Cox.
There is some projected growth in areas such as Listowel and Stratford.
“We do see birth rates slightly increasing, not really gaining back to where we were in the mid to late nineties, nothing like that, but at least stabilizing and then some of the areas like Stratford and Listowel, where we're getting families commuting longer distances to work,” said Cox.
Cox says another thing they're noticing is that some families are moving into smaller homes that once would have only been attractive to retired couples.