BY DONNA SWICEGOOD

Iredell-Statesville Schools officials and the Statesville City Council met on Tuesday in an effort to improve communications between the two entities.

I-SS Superintendent Jeff James and Chief Operating Officer Mark Shinkaruk provided council members with an update on construction projects, enrollment numbers and capacity rates at district schools.

Capacity rates, Shinkaruk said, are of particular interest to municipal governments, which are often tasked with considering rezoning and annexation requests for new housing development requests.

“Our schools that are dealing with the most capacity concerns are in the southern end of the county, but that’s not always the case,” he said.

Cloverleaf Elementary is operating at about 95 percent capacity and Troutman Elementary is operating at 120 percent capacity, Shinkaruk noted.

Council member David Jones asked if the enrollment at charter schools is taken into account when a new development is proposed. City manager Ron Smith said the enrollment numbers at charter schools are not taken into account.

Shinkaruk also gave council an update on the new Weathers Creek High School and Parkertown Elementary School and on improvements at Statesville High School.

Shinkaruk talked about improvements to the football field and track at SHS, as well as replacement of the gym floor, upgrading of the visitor’s bathrooms at Greyhound Hollow, irrigation updates for the baseball field, and a culinary arts lab.

He said projects that are under consideration at SHS include a new field house for the football program.

“The field house at Statesville High School is one we’d love to accomplish,” he said.

The estimated cost, he said, is $4 million to $6 million.

James also talked about the achievement gap between the schools in more affluent areas.

“When it comes to poverty,” he said, “the biggest impact on those kids is when they start kindergarten.”

James said data shows students in low-income households are two years behind their non-impoverished kids when they begin school.

I-SS District 2 representative Kevin Angell told the council that the goal of the meeting was to open the lines of communication between the two entities.