With the assimilation with the large freshman class of 2022, the school has seen a slight increase in population according to head of the counseling department Barbara Nelson.

Nelson said while the staff were wary of the increasing class sizes, their fears have been diminished.

“We took a look at the schedule in the middle of the summer with the administration. When we were looking at things we thought, ‘oh my God it’s going to be really bad’ and we knew that class sizes were going to be bigger,” Nelson said. “But all in all, now that the dust has settled after the first week of schedule changes and now into the flow of the year, it doesn’t look as bad to me as I thought.”

Nelson said the extra numbers in students have proved difficult to manage.

“1,400 was the target and now we are at 1,488 for students, and with the biggest class being 9th graders which is over 400, which is big for us,” Nelson said. “Normally we are about 350-360 so when you have those extra 40-50 kids in there, it definitely adds a pinch. The thing about 9th grade is that they only have certain electives to select, so a lot of electives are full.”

Assistant Principal Charles Johnson-Nixon said the large freshman class does not accurately reflect the state of all the classes and their sizes.

“Class sizes are only slightly higher than last year. Most classes are around 36-38 (students) which we consider to be a manageable size,” Johnson-Nixon said. “From the outside looking in, because we did have a fairly large freshman class, it could give the appearance of an adverse impact in class sizes but they’re actually very steady and very close to what they were last year.”

Nelson said class sizes and schedules are decided in a process with the departments, the counseling office and principal Scott Meyers.

“The department heads discuss with Mr.Meyers how many class sections they are going to have with what the students have requested, and then we (the counseling office) fine-tune it,” Nelson said.

Nelson said the class sizes also impacted open enrollment.

“(With) open enrollment there’s a lot more control and they let a lot of kids in. But they closed open enrollment in May and turned it into a wait list because we’re fine, we don’t need more students,” Nelson said.

Johnson-Nixon said post referendum, the school will being seeing changes that will greatly assist with the school’s cramped feeling.

“Once the referendum is passed that’s going to have an impact on the feel of the building,” Johnson-Nixon said. “Things are going to seem more comfortable and smaller once we change the building in the ways that we’re trying to change it, with the core common area and the 10 new classrooms.”

Johnson-Nixon said the construction being decided by the referendum will change the makeup of the school within a few years.

“The construction will start right after the referendum and we have the plans in place. As you go throughout the school year you’ll notice little things being done and some of the bigger stuff we’ll start during the summer,” Johnson Nixon said. “It’s not going to be automatic. It’s going to take a couple of year but they’re going to move very fast on this.”

Johnson-Nixon said the increase in class sizes are merely a small side-effect of the school recruiting students.

“Regarding class sizes, our goal is to raise the population of the school. We want St. Louis Park High School to be a place where people want to send their kids, even more so than they wanted to already.”