DOWNTOWN — Ogden International School's Gold Coast campus is at "efficient" capacity despite being overfilled by more than 50 students, according to a Chicago Public Schools report.
The building at 24 W. Walton St., which houses pre-K through 5th grades at Ogden, is at 107 percent capacity with 865 students, according to CPS. That's "efficient" space utilization despite only having room for 810 students, according to the school district.
Meanwhile, Ogden's west campus at 1250 W. Erie St. is "underutilized" with just 717 students, 79 percent of its "ideal" capacity of 912.
"The proper utilization of district facilities is an important factor in ensuring CPS makes the most of its limited resources, and the district is committed to making improvements in this area," CPS spokesman Michael Passman said in a statement earlier this month.
Ogden's west campus, which houses grades 6 through 12, is a school that draws students from all over the city. But the east campus is a neighborhood school covering large swaths of Downtown, leading to a longtime overcrowding issue that's expected to only worsen amid rampant development. Ogden's principal this fall proposed an address audit and a merger with nearby Jenner Elementary Academy of the Arts to address overcrowding. Both proposals have since fallen by the wayside.
CPS officials said the district is required to file the space utilization report, and said the data set "is one of many considered in discussions about potential facility modifications, but we will not make decisions based on this report alone."
Elsewhere, Walton Payton College Prep, a selective-enrollment high school at 1034 N. Wells St., is also deemed "efficient" despite being at 106 percent capacity. Payton's enrollment this year is at 887 students, but is opening a new annex next school year.
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