GILLETTE -- Seven new elementary schools and an additional junior high and high school could be added in Campbell County if school board follows a newly established master plan for the school district.

The master plan, which was unveiled in a special school board meeting Tuesday, is the result of a year-and-a-half-long effort to establish a plan for maintaining schools and preparing for additional growth in Gillette and Wright.

With input from community members and leaders, JGA, an architect, engineer and planning firm out of Montana, developed a plan that would take the school district 10 years into the future, based on estimated growth for the community.

With record growth in 2006 and 2007 for both Gillette and Wright, JGA established estimated growth on a conservative scale based on previous year-to-year growth trends for the school district, as well as a more progressive number taking into consideration new housing projections and anticipated growth in the two communities.

Projections for the conservative growth are set at 3,400 new students in the school district in the next 10 years, and the more progressive numbers were based on 5,900 new students. For each scenario, the elementary schools will be the most highly impacted, with 58 percent of the total students in grades K-6, said John Eisen, project director for JGA.

Recommendations under both of these plans call for many additions to the communities, starting with at least three new elementary schools in the most conservative projection, as well as a new junior high and eventually, a new high school.

“In districts experiencing rapid growth, planning your future on your past might be problematic,” Eisen said. “If residential construction continues at this pace, what does that mean?”

From how many schools to where they should be located, the master plan spells out a plan of action for the school board. Some variations to the plan may be necessary depending on how the growth in the communities plays out. If, for instance, Wright suddenly grows more rapidly than projected, the community's school needs will be a much higher priority than they are now, officials said.

Under the most likely scenario, with 3,400 more students added to the district, three elementary schools will need to be added, as well as a new junior high and high school.

The dilemma with the high school is unique, because currently there are two campuses for one existing high school. On an often-debated subject in the community, JGA established two scenarios for accommodating the growth.

The first scenario would call for a new junior high to be built, as well plans to add onto the high school's South Campus to convert it into its own stand-alone high school. The second scenario would convert South Campus to a new junior high and as a result, a new high school would need to be built.

“The utilization for South Campus was the most debated subject at the forums,” Eisen said.

Several elementary schools were recommended to be replaced entirely, including three -- Hillcrest, Stocktrail and Lakeview -- that are already in the process of being replaced. Also on the list is Westwood Alternative School, for which the district has just received state funding to move forward with replacement. Officials hope the new Westwood will be ready for enrollment by 2010.

With the new master plan in hand, the board has a working document to move forward, Eisen said.

“This will be used every step of the way,” said board member Dr. David Fall.

“It's going to be so valuable for the community,” said board member Susan Shippy. “We just all need to work together.”

For Shippy, the plan is a huge improvement over what she first experienced coming to Gillette as a teacher in the 1970s. At the time, classes were being held in basements of churches and anywhere there was room because the town was experiencing a similar boom to the one the county has seen in recent years.

“They didn't have this kind of planning we have now,” Shippy said. “This is absolutely wonderful to be able to look at this.”