In just one year, the K-4 student population at Sisters Elementary School grew by 14.4%, adding 44 children between the fall of 2018 and fall of 2019. This makes it the fastest-growing school in Central Oregon, according to the most recent state data.

The increase, part of a regional trend in schools from La Pine to Madras, prompted the Sisters School District to hire a new kindergarten teacher this school year. But the growth has Superintendent Curt Scholl thinking big: He wants to replace the elementary school’s building with a larger one and pay for it with a bond that would go before voters in May 2021.

The new building would share the same campus as Sisters high and middle schools on the city’s western edge, and would house grades K-5. Fifth graders in Sisters have attended Sisters Middle School for at least a decade due to a lack of space at the elementary school, Scholl said.

“If we’re able to move our fifth graders back into the elementary, it’ll also give our middle school room for growth as well,” he said.

The new bond would replace a $20.5 million school bond that voters approved in 2001, which expires next year, Scholl said. That bond paid for the new Sisters High School.

The rapid growth at Sisters Elementary School stands apart from the district’s two other schools. Sisters Middle School added only six students during the same period, while Sisters High School shrunk from 464 to 434 students, according to state data.

The reason for Sisters Elementary School’s population growth could be due to more housing being built in recent years — particularly more affordable housing, Scholl said. Sisters had an estimated population of 2,747 in 2018, compared to 2,038 in 2010, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

A boost in elementary students compared to older students indicates consistent student population growth in the future, Scholl said.

“Young growth usually means sustained growth, and that’s exciting to plan for,” Scholl said.

Bend-La Pine and Redmond school districts both maintained their positions as top-20 Oregon school districts by population in the fall of 2019, staying put in fifth and 17th place, respectively. Bend-La Pine is still the largest Oregon school district outside of the Portland and Salem-Keizer metropolitan areas.

In Bend-La Pine Schools, Summit and La Pine high schools also saw strong enrollment growth from the fall of 2018 to the fall of 2019, adding 139 and 46 students, respectively. La Pine High School’s student population jumped 10.6% compared to the fall of 2018.

The increased population at Summit High School is “natural anticipated growth,” Brad Henry, Bend-La Pine’s chief financial officer, wrote in an email. The 2021 opening of Bend-La Pine’s fourth major high school should help balance enrollment across the district, he wrote.

Henry added that the growth at La Pine High School was likely due to more families moving to that area. The city of La Pine’s population has increased by an estimated 18% since 2010, according to the U.S. Census.

Bend and Mountain View high schools each saw small enrollment declines, according to state data.

In the Redmond School District, two schools serving the city’s fast-growing south end, Ridgeview High School and Sage Elementary School, saw increased enrollment by 5% and 8%, respectively. Ridgeview High School, with 972 students, passed its crosstown rival, Redmond High School, in the fall of 2019 — the latter saw its student population fall by 11.6%, to 905 students.

In September, when initial enrollment estimates showed a population decline at Redmond High School, Redmond Superintendent Mike McIntosh said this shift was due to more new homes being finished on Redmond’s south end, which is zoned for Ridgeview.

Crook County School District, with an overall student population growth rate of 4.8%, was the fastest-growing Central Oregon school district this school year. Crook County Middle School in particular saw a boost in enrollment, with nearly an 11% jump in population.

The school district as a whole leapfrogged Jefferson County School District in total student population in 2019. Crook County is now within the top 50 largest school districts in Oregon, out of 210 districts in total.

Crook County School District has already announced plans to open a third K-4 magnet elementary school in Prineville to reduce crowding at the two existing Prineville elementary schools. It also expects to hire more teachers and educational assistants with the estimated $2.4 million it will receive in August from the Student Success Act business tax.

In the Jefferson County School District, Madras High School grew by 5.4%, to 682 total students. However, all of the district’s other schools saw population declines.

Enrollment in Culver School District’s three schools mostly stayed steady, with each school adding or losing just a few students. Culver High School lost five students in the fall of 2019, down to a total of 197 students.