WESTBROOK – The Westbrook School Department wants to measure growth in the community, and has commissioned an enrollment study in order to weigh options for upgrading the department’s school buildings in the future.

Planning Decisions Inc., a Portland-based research and planning firm, is undertaking the study, which will attempt to represent a clear picture of what Westbrook officials can expect for enrollment growth through the next decade.

Superintendent of Schools Marc Gousse said Monday that the department had toyed with the idea for the last two years, but feels that accurate information on the city’s growth is essential if the department is to have any further discussion on upgrades to the district’s school buildings.

“I thought we really needed to think about smart growth, and undertake a thoughtful, comprehensive study about where we’re going to be in the next decade,” he said.

Gousse said that the situation at Saccarappa Elementary School, where a portable classroom was added last year, was one of the inspirations to initiate the study.

“Moving that portable on site was a good thing for kids and programming, but it got everybody’s attention to say, ‘We’re going to start looking at this,’ ” he said.

In February, the School Committee’s finance committee approved a full analysis by Planning Decisions at a cost of $2,700.

He added that while one solution may be constructing an addition at Saccarappa, this enrollment study may provide a clearer picture of the best solution.

According to Gousse, Westbrook Middle School, which has an unfinished third floor wing that could potentially add six additional classrooms, has also been using common spaces for instruction and projects.

Rebecca Wandell, a senior project analyst and business manager for Planning Decisions, has taken the lead in the study.

Gousse said the company is looking at historical trends that affect Westbrook’s enrollments, such as population shifts in Westbrook and neighboring municipalities, as well as effects from the recent recession, which saw many people move back to communities with more services, such as Portland and its bordering suburbs.

Although Gousse has only preliminary findings, the expectation is that the current enrollment number of roughly 2,500 will grow, although minimally, in each of the coming years.

He said that Wandell has talked with the Westbrook Planning Department to gauge the potential impact of current projects in the city, and what they might mean for population.

“It’s a great opportunity to educate people on our facilities, and talk about where we have space, where we have challenges and needs,” he said, commenting on the study as a way to work with city officials on growth strategies.

Gousse said there is room to grow in the high school, which, when he was principal, had a population of roughly 900. Currently, the high school has about 700 students.

He added that he hopes to have the complete results of the study next week.