The Iowa City School Board on Tuesday discussed the numerical data about the recent demographic changes to the district.

Iowa City’s schools are projected to grow at a faster rate, said Geoffry Smith, who presented the information to the board. Smith used grade-progression rates, which demonstrated the retention of students from one year to the next.

The grade-progression rate from eighth to ninth grade has been the highest from 1999-2010, which officials speculate will continue.

“The Department of Education is projecting growth for the state of Iowa,” Smith said. “This year might be the first year that the state of Iowa has grown in the past 12 or 13 years.”

The concern about the amount of growth lies in the different schools. Currently, 15 percent of students are not attending their neighborhood schools because of redistricting. School officials said the addition of the Borlaug school will help improve the distribution of attendance in schools. That school is slated to be completed in the summer of 2012.

— by Jennifer Earl