Chanhassen High is the popular new kid on the block

A surge in student demand to attend the new high school in Chanhassen has led officials to deny most requests for transfers to the school next fall.

Superintendent David Jennings cited the need to balance enrollment at both Chaska and Chanhassen high schools as the reason he limited intra-district transfers to Chanhassen to just 17 out of 72 requests.

In the other direction, all 19 requests from students wanting to transfer to Chaska High next school year were granted.

"We would like to move toward a day when there is open enrollment back and forth," Jennings said. "But we're committed in this early stage to managing enrollment until both schools are well- established."

Since 1906, Chaska High has been the only high school for Eastern Carver County students. That changed last fall, with the opening of Chanhassen High, a large, modern building with dorm-style lounge areas, a state-of-the-art performing arts theater, a 2,000-seat football stadium, and other popular amenities. It served students in grades 9-11 this school year.

All of the seniors stayed at Chaska, which has about 1,500 students enrolled this year -- about 500 more than Chanhassen.

However, that will change in the next school year, as Chanhassen High becomes the largest high school in the district. As its juniors become seniors, it will serve an estimated 1,437 students, according to district figures.

Neither school will come close to reaching its capacity of 2,000 students each.

Jennings said the uptick in demand for Chanhassen High is driven by the novelty factor and the friend factor.

"It's a new school and it's kind of cool," he said. "The second factor is the more relevant one for most kids, and that's about friendships."

Students often want to go to school with their friends, and so if they know a friend is going to Chanhassen High, they want to go there too, he said.

District officials say they want to balance the number of students at both high schools, because funding for programs is tied to the number of students in a building.

Jennings said parents he's talked to seem to be taking the news in stride. "Most of those whom I've spoken with have understood the rationale, and can be comfortable with it."

For the most part, the only transfer requests granted for next year were ones made by students with a sibling already at Chanhassen High.

The district has a long-standing practice of accommodating so-called sibling preference requests from parents to have their children attend the same school.

"This is the first year of a second high school, so we're getting our feet wet and trying to be patient about addressing the issues that come up until we know how things will shake out," said Nancy Kracke, a spokeswoman for the Eastern Carver County Schools.