Growing West Jefferson Hills undergoes new demographic, building capacity study

West Jefferson Hills School District has hired Thomas & Williamson to study the area’s potential growth and ensure its buildings are ready for what’s coming next.

School board members in October approved a $26,670 agreement with the company for it to gather demographic data of the area and complete a building capacity study.

“I want to make sure we’re being strategic and focused in how we’re spending taxpayer money, but that we future proof the district as much as we can,” Superintendent Michael Ghilani said. “It’s impossible to completely future-proof it. Spending $30,000 to visit the demographic and feasibility study could save you millions and millions down the road.”

The district underwent both a demographic and feasibility study two years ago to look at areas of growth. The demographic study focused on live births and housing being built in Jefferson Hills, Ghilani said. Those numbers have been “blown out of the water” at the elementary and intermediate level, he said.

West Jefferson Hills underwent a redistricting at its elementary level in 2018-19.

Gill Hall Elementary is currently undergoing an expansion to meet the growing needs and Jefferson Hills Intermediate School has run out of space. At Jefferson Hills Intermediate, the study two years ago projected 696 students, yet the school already is at 750 students today, Ghilani said.

District leaders have talked about the need to renovate and expand Jefferson Hills Intermediate School.

“We know we’re out of room at Jefferson. Is the most economical and feasible option to put an addition on Jefferson like we did with the renovation, or is it something else?” Ghilani said.

That’s what the study will show.

For the demographic study, Thomas & Williamson will bring in a GIS firm to look at the district street-by-street.

“They want to focus on Pleasant Hills,” Ghilani said.

While some expected the growth would come from new development in Jefferson Hills, particularly Hunters Field, leaders have found that much of the additional student population is coming from a turnover in Pleasant Hills of longtime residents selling their homes to younger families.

“They want to get a better handle on that,” Ghilani said. “If you look at the age of most of the people, street by street, how long they’ve been there and lived in that home, you can make some general predictions about how many people are there that still may leave and what other opportunities are there for other families to still come in.”

The goal is for the demographic study to be completed by the end of the year, with the building capacity study wrapping up by the spring.