McMillan Elementary, a school in the eastern portion of the West Ada School District, can accommodate 475 students but currently enrolls just 171, representing a 62% decline since 2014. The district’s chief operating officer, David Reinhart, explained that the school was constructed during the 1970s‑80s boom when the area’s population was growing rapidly. Today the building operates at roughly 36% capacity and is projected to drop to 121 students by 2031.
Board hearing highlights concerns and data
At a school board meeting on Monday night, district staff presented the enrollment figures, the cost of heating and cooling largely empty classrooms, and a $5.4 million estimate for repairs and updates needed over the next ten years. Nineteen parents, students and community members spoke during the public‑input portion, all opposing closure.
Parent activist Paige Wilson, whose three children attend McMillan, started a Change.org petition that has gathered 609 signatures. Wilson told trustees that her daughter, who struggled in an overcrowded district, has thrived at McMillan because of the small class sizes. “We all know McMillan Elementary cares about their students,” she said. “The question is, does the West Ada School District care about the students?”
District’s enrollment projections
Miranda Carson, the district’s director of planning and transportation, said the district uses two key metrics to forecast enrollment. First, it works with land‑use agencies to track new development. While some infill projects are planned near McMillan, they may add only six new units, many of which could be one‑bedroom apartments. Second, the district measures student mobility to gauge how many families are moving into the area.
Carson noted that the district’s 2026 enrollment model was 99% accurate for K‑5 projections and that the model continues to show a steady decline for the McMillan attendance zone.
Impact on neighboring schools
Six nearby elementary schools have a combined 1,016 seats available, according to Carson. Andrus Elementary has 270 open seats and Frontier Elementary 263, providing ample capacity for the 171 McMillan students if the school is closed.
A long‑range planning committee, composed of parents, recommended closure not solely for financial reasons but because the committee saw educational value in having multiple classes per grade level. “Imagine you’re the only second‑grade teacher at a school,” Carson said. “Having another teacher to collaborate with improves the educational experience.”
Future of the property
Reinhart said the district has no immediate plans for the McMillan property should it be decommissioned, noting that deciding the site’s future would be a separate task for the board.
Statewide data show that declining enrollment is a broader trend driven by lower birth rates. Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab director Marguerite Roza explained that many districts are seeing fewer kindergarteners replace graduating seniors, leading to a steady drop in student numbers.
Next steps
The West Ada School Board will vote on the decommissioning proposal on November 9. The decision will affect not only the 171 students currently enrolled at McMillan but also the broader community’s access to a neighborhood school with small class sizes.
Parents like Wilson continue to advocate for keeping the school open, urging the board to consider boundary changes that could bring more families into the attendance zone. The board’s decision will balance fiscal responsibility, facility needs, and the desire to preserve a local school that many families value for its personalized education.
Original reporting: Idaho Education News — read the source article.
