The Hopewell Valley Regional School District is seeing steady enrollment growth this school year and will commission a new demographer study, with the help of Hopewell Township, to help guide future planning.
Rising Numbers Across the District
While overall enrollment is up by about 1.1 percent, the increases are not evenly distributed. Stony Brook Elementary School welcomed 45 new students at the start of the year. Growth tied to local housing developments has also added pressure. Developments like The Collection at Hopewell, Woodmont Forge and Hopewell Parc have contributed over 270 students to the district already, though some families were already living within the district and moved into new housing.
Superintendent Rosetta Treece said class sizes are already bumping up against state thresholds. The largest kindergarten classes at Stony Brook and Bear Tavern have 23 students. State rules only require additional staffing once classes hit 25, but the district has historically added support sooner. Budget limits now constrain that flexibility.
“We always want to make sure our teachers feel supported. When you have 23 or 24 kindergartners, that’s a lot,” Treece said at the Board of Education meeting. “We try to provide additional help before the state requires it, but the reality is, our budget doesn’t always allow us to do that.”
Uneven Strain on Schools
Treece noted that Bear Tavern and Stony Brook are absorbing more growth in a number of grades, while Toll Gate remains limited by its smaller classrooms and overall building size. In some cases, the district has already redirected incoming students to different schools when class sizes reached fire code limits.
“If you’re a new family moving in and that classroom has 25, 26 kids, I have to send you somewhere else,” Treece said. “The community is going to have to be ready for 27, 28” students per class if growth continues.”
Why a New Study Is Needed
The district’s last demographic study included low, medium, and high growth scenarios. Treece said current numbers are already tracking toward the high-growth line, warranting a fresh review.
All three municipalities — Hopewell Township, Hopewell Borough, and Pennington Borough — will provide updated development data to feed into the new study. The findings will guide planning for the 2026–27 year and are expected to inform a potential redistricting process.
“We’ve already done minor redistricting,” Treece said, “but by 2026 and 2027, we will probably need to look at a larger redistricting plan.”
Space Once Gained, Now Gone
Treece also addressed community perceptions that fewer students over the past decade should have left plenty of room in schools. She explained that past enrollment declines allowed HVRSD to expand programs: full-day kindergarten, preschool, dedicated music and art rooms, STEM spaces, and smaller class sizes are all realities that didn’t used to be part of the district.
“Yes, there are less kids overall than there were years ago,” she said, “but over the years we have added more programs.” Those programs now occupy spaces that once served as general classrooms, limiting flexibility as growth returns. For example, kindergarten rooms are no longer used for a morning and afternoon classes because kids are in school all day.
Preparing for the Future
Treece tied enrollment trends directly to the district’s November 4 referendum, which includes proposals to add classrooms at Bear Tavern and Toll Gate. Without new space, she warned, redistricting would be “with a hacksaw, not a scalpel,” affecting far more students than necessary.
The new demographer study will be key to deciding how to balance future enrollment and plan facilities beyond 2026. “We want to make sure we have the most accurate data so we can plan thoughtfully and keep disruptions to a minimum,” Treece said.
