By: Scott Liles
Harrison Daily Times

Bergman School currently has 970 students and projects to have 1,256 by 2014, but those numbers could swell even more if the school district absorbs its neighbor to the north.

In discussing issues that would affect the Bergman School District's enrollment projections in its 10-year master facilities plan, the school recognizes the possibly of annexing the Lead Hill School District.

"The annexation of the Lead Hill School District with BSD [Bergman School District] is a very possible scenario," the school writes in the master plan it submitted to the state Department of Education on Feb. 1.

"We are not trying to take them over," Bergman Superintendent Joe Couch said. "We do not have any plans set. The state wanted to know what would affect our enrollment, and we noted that."

The Lead Hill School District has been in financial distress for a year and has 377 students. Districts that fall below the 350-student threshold are annexed into a neighboring district by the state Department of Education.

Lead Hill School counted a student body of 402 students in 2002-2003; 421 students in 2003-2004 and 427 students in 2004-2005. From 1999 until 2002, the school counted student populations in the 370-range.

"We do not know what will happen," Couch said. "There's talk of having a countywide administration. We may wind up as the Boone County School District."

Also noted in Bergman's master plan was the impact that school choice transfers have had on the district. The school has added 62 students through school choice, where students can opt in the summer to attend another school. In both the 2004-2005 and the 2005-2006 school years, 32 students chose to attend Bergman over their home school districts.

"Approximately 50 percent of the school choice students come from Lead Hill and approximately 50 percent come from Harrison and the surrounding areas," the master plan states.

A state-level award and large construction projects just over the school district line will have a positive impact on Bergman's enrollment, the school writes in its master plan.

The school was awarded one of 10 "Golden Apples" and recognized as being one of the top-performing schools in the state by Gov. Mike Huckabee in 2005.

"This fact will continue to increase the number of students enrolling in BSD from surrounding districts," the school writes in the master plan.

Presently, there are approximately 116 single-family residences planned for construction on the southern border of the Bergman School District. Those houses are inside the Harrison School District, but "with the close proximity and the option of school choice, it can be assumed that some parents living in this area will choose to send their children to one of the top 10 schools in the state," the master plan notes.