DeKalb High School is filled to the brim.

With a maximum capacity of 1,430 students and the school’s current enrollment at 1,720, overcrowding has become a problem for DeKalb High School.

“In order to deal with this, we have changed our daily schedule and we also utilize space in our building at a current rate of 98 percent,” said Dr. Lindsey Hall, DeKalb High School principal.

“This is high, because typically teachers have a free classroom to work in one or two periods per day; this really doesn’t happen anymore.”

Two years ago, the Facilities Planning Committee (FPC) was formed to take a look at long-range possibilities of additional accommodations to deal with the congestion in DeKalb public schools, said Russ Fletcher, school/community relations liaison.

“The need is very immediate for additional classroom space,” Fletcher said.

In March 2007, the FPC released a report examining the capacities of all 12 district schools, planning from 2007 to 2017.

According to FPC guidelines, the plan must consider immediate as well as on-going operational efficiency and cost-effectiveness. It should also respond to the district’s mission statement as well as to the best practices in education, including the use of technology.

Student-to-staff ratios will be considered and the plan must allow for equity among the facilities.

Hall said as student enrollment increases, so does the employment of faculty and staff.

To save space, the school utilizes non-traditional areas for study halls, such as the main commons and auditorium, Hall said. Three faculty offices have been moved from classrooms into other spaces to open up more teaching areas.

In August, DeKalb School District 428 hosted a series of public forums that discussed 11 new options for the high school. More than 200 community members attended the forums and voiced their opinions.

The strongest supported option by members of the community was to build a new high school.

On Oct. 16, the FPC will put forth a formal presentation of the three options still in consideration, as well as make a formal recommendation for a referendum to go on the February 2008 ballot.