Here is a stat for the haters…

[BDGiant93]

47 minutes ago, 23andCounting said:

Not surprised. Politics plays a factor. The current system is geared toward growth in Indy while leaving the smaller communities behind. As one politician stated, "we want to be like Chicago." Which I'm thankful for. Every time I drive through Indy, I'm reminded why it's nicer to live in a smaller town. But from a football standpoint, the schools in Indy are going to continue outpacing all other areas of the state unless they start breaking the schools in two. 

"The schools in Indy" are losing or maintaining enrollment levels. It's the suburban schools that are growing.  

[23andCounting]

6 minutes ago, BDGiant93 said:

"The schools in Indy" are losing or maintaining enrollment levels. It's the suburban schools that are growing.  

Yes, that's what I meant. 

[FastpacedO]

1 hour ago, GOLDRUSH1985 said:

I could see Fishers hitting 5K students by 2030 . 

Funny thing about Fishers. I still remember in the 1990's when Hamilton Southeastern was a  4A school. By 2005 HSE had grown so big they opened Fishers High Scnow both are 6A schools separated by 6 miles.

[crimsonace1]

3 hours ago, FastpacedO said:

Funny thing about Fishers. I still remember in the 1990's when Hamilton Southeastern was a  4A school. By 2005 HSE had grown so big they opened Fishers High Scnow both are 6A schools separated by 6 miles.

A decade earlier, HSE was a 1A. No community has exploded quite like Fishers has. Fishers is now the fourth-largest city in Indiana (behind Indy/FW/EVV, but bigger than South Bend). Carmel is No. 5. 

[Impartial_Observer]

1982 1A champs with Ron Moyer dropping dimes. 

[crimsonace1]

4 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

Not surprised. Politics plays a factor. The current system is geared toward growth in Indy while leaving the smaller communities behind. As one politician stated, "we want to be like Chicago." Which I'm thankful for. Every time I drive through Indy, I'm reminded why it's nicer to live in a smaller town. But from a football standpoint, the schools in Indy are going to continue outpacing all other areas of the state unless they start breaking the schools in two. 

I'm not sure how much politics plays into it. I teach (and study) economics. Suburbanization is a reality everywhere - not just in Indiana.

The biggest change in Indiana is that, 50 years ago, the state's economy was centered around large manufacturing towns like Marion, Anderson, Kokomo, Columbus, Lafayette, Muncie, Richmond, et al (basically, the North Central Conference with a few of the South Central Conference towns filtered in). Those were the communities with powerhouse athletic programs, the biggest schools, gymnasiums that colleges would be envious of, and had thriving communities. 

As the economy has shifted from a manufacturing-based one to a service-based one (and I know this is where people blame NAFTA, but U.S. manufacturing output is higher now than it was 30 years ago ... but jobs that used to be in Anderson and Muncie are now in Greensburg and Princeton because half as many people buy GM and Ford cars as did a generation ago, while more people are buying Hondas and Toyotas). Manufacturing has largely shifted from mid-sized Midwestern factory towns like Anderson and Flint and Youngstown to the South - Tennessee, Alabama, North Carolina. As a result, jobs have shifted in Indiana to be more service-based - logistics, especially. Those are going to concentrate near large cities for a lot of reasons (transportation being one). Indy, for example, has a major FedEx hub at the airport (and also a major UPS ground terminal). Nearby is a one of CSX's largest classification yards in Avon, and three major cross-country interstates (and a fourth regional interstate) cross in the city. The area west of the airport in Plainfield has exploded as a logistics hub, and areas along I-65 and I-70 have also done so in Hendricks, Hancock, Johnson and Boone Counties. Naturally, that's going to attract jobs - both high-tech and managerial/HQ jobs and logistics work. And so people more from Anderson and Muncie to find work in the Indy area (heck, a significant number of Ball State professors live in Fishers, and a smaller but also significant number of IU profs live in the Center Grove area, thanks to easy access to both campuses from I-69, in part because for some, their spouses work in the Indy area). It's more economic reality than politics that's driving Central Indiana's growth - and especially, the growth of suburban Indianapolis. 

[GOLDRUSH1985]

16 hours ago, 23andCounting said:

Not surprised. Politics plays a factor. The current system is geared toward growth in Indy while leaving the smaller communities behind. As one politician stated, "we want to be like Chicago." Which I'm thankful for. Every time I drive through Indy, I'm reminded why it's nicer to live in a smaller town. But from a football standpoint, the schools in Indy are going to continue outpacing all other areas of the state unless they start breaking the schools in two. 

They did split schools when they built Fishers high school . Half go to HSE and the other half Fishers . That area is still growing , I think a third High School could be needed . 

[BDGiant93]

5 hours ago, GOLDRUSH1985 said:

They did split schools when they built Fishers high school . Half go to HSE and the other half Fishers . That area is still growing , I think a third High School could be needed . 

Finances will be the problem with this. I'm not sure there's an appetite to spend whatever it would cost to build a new building, hire teachers, etc.

[gopher2]

6 hours ago, GOLDRUSH1985 said:

They did split schools when they built Fishers high school . Half go to HSE and the other half Fishers . That area is still growing , I think a third High School could be needed . 

As a resident of HSE district there's nowhere to put a new HS where the student population currently lives.  While the city of Fishers is growing, Fishers HS area is totally landlocked by Noblesville, Carmel, Marion County, and HSE HS to the east.  HSE has room to grow north and east from the Exit 210 area but it's all agricultural past 146th St.  There is no infrastructure for anything large scale at this time, but I'm sure that in 20 years it will probably grow north to SR38.  The number of students who attend HSE HS that live north of I-69 is a very small percentage.  Many families who live in the northern part of the district send their kids to other school corporations because of proximity  My house is the farthest in the school corporation (NE part of the district in Wayne Twp).  There are 6 other high schools our kids can get to sooner in the morning than HSE:  Noblesville, Hamilton Heights, Elwood, Frankton, Lapel, Pendleton, possibly Mt. Vernon.  There's a lot of land available for a school further north (this was looked at briefly in the early 2000s when Fishers HS was built) but not the infrastructure nor number of students necessary to make it work.

[First_Backer_Inside]

On 12/1/2025 at 10:15 PM, Stoner said:

The modest growth on the east side of the district is pretty well offset by the 7-8 older community ‘burgs whose school age kids dwindle yearly. The 70/39 corridor is all warehouses or truck stops (and Ted Everett) with no residential growth whatsoever. The prevailing thought is Cascade will retreat to 2A next cycle.

Growth will happen, but it’s a very minor factor at this point.

Not if they win a regional next year.