School district planning and the 2010 decennial census: Data uses and needs

Issue title: Special issue on The United States Census at the Dawn of the 21st Century

Guest editors: Charles G. Renfro

Article type: Research Article

Authors: McKibben, Jerome N.^a

Affiliations: [a] McKibben Demographic Research and University of Mississippi Center for Population Studies, P.O. Box 2921 Rock Hill SC 29732. E-mail: [email protected] | 601 West 113th Street, #12G New York, NY 10025, USA | Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Center for Population Research, University of Mississippi, P.O. Box 1848, University, MS 38677-1848, USA

Abstract: As school districts attempt to address future planning needs for the next 10 years, they are increasingly using in-depth and comprehensive demographic data to assist them in the decision making process. Data at the school district level is available from the 2000 decennial census through the Census Bureau and the National Center for Education Statistics. Unfortunately, demographic data for sub district areas must be complied by aggregating block level census data to various sub district geographies. Without access to accurate block and block group census data, school districts would have no reliable demographic data to use in there efforts to develop short and long term strategic plans addressing the future composition and distribution of their students or to make accurate projections of future demand based on the unique characteristic of the district sub areas.

DOI: 10.3233/JEM-2006-0274

Journal: Journal of Economic and Social Measurement, vol. 31, no. 3-4, pp. 221-232, 2006