Facility Planning & Forecasting

The Long Range Facility Needs Assessment (LRFNA) and associated documents may be termed a “compilation study." It is completed using information from contracted sources, Onslow County School Staff, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction, local municipalities, county government, and numerous other contributors within our community. The LRFNA is a large document that is available for review online, (bandwidth permitting), and is also available for review at all the Onslow County Libraries.

North Carolina State University and OR/ED Laboratories conduct first-hand research on the demographic trends of Onslow County every year.  Over the years, their projections have shown statistically relatively low margin of errors and are considered considerably accurate for planning purposes. Student population projected numbers are taken using a variety of models which weigh factors such as school enrollment history, subdivision growth, local building growth and plans, utilities, permit history, increasing military presence as well as zoning and land use restrictions. Once calculated, student projections are married to existing school capacities to generate “out-of-capacity” worksheets. Each worksheet provides crucial graphic images and graphs of when each Onslow County School will surpass it's optimal permanent-structure capacity.