Mars Area can expect continued enrollment growth, board told

factor. Mars Area municipalities, particularly Adams and Middlesex, averaged 208 new homes a year for the last 28 years — similar growth to Cranberry.

“One hundred acres of farmland disappeared,” Mr. Stewman said.

Housing starts in Adams are going down a little but, he said, “Middlesex is cranking up.”

The district would get approximately 64 students for each 100 new single-family homes and 20 students for each 100 new townhouses.

Duplexes and patio homes tend to be sold to childless or older couples.

Under his first scenario, with births keeping pace with the last two years, and adding new houses, the net gain to the district could be 529 new students in the next 10 years, he said.

In other business, board president J. Dayle Ferguson said negotiators for the district and the union representing support personnel met July 20, but the union has not yet submitted a written response to the board’s ultimatum.

Last month, the board told the Mars Area Support Professionals Association that the union had until Sept. 1 to accept the board’s latest offer.

If not, the district would outsource custodial services and continue negotiations with the secretaries and paraprofessionals.

Mrs. Ferguson also announced that the new district website is up and running.

The web address rem a i n s the same: www.marsk12.org.

Superintendent Wes Shipley said the district conducted 160 random drug tests on students during the previous school year.

The positive test rate was 1.2 percent, compared with the national average of 2.2 percent.

All retests were negative, he added.

Mars Area randomly tests several groups of students, including middle and high school athletes, and those who drive to school.