WESTFIELD, IND — Westfield officials are looking to shift the public perception about the city's growth, arguing they need more new housing developments to maintain healthy school enrollment numbers rather than slowing expansion.
"We've got to stop the narrative in Westfield that we can't continue to add homes, because the reality of it is if we don't, we have much bigger problems than if we do," Westfield Mayor Scott Willis said.
The issue centers on student enrollment in the Westfield Washington School District, where officials worry about potential declines that could force difficult budget decisions.
"What we want to avoid is big declines in enrollment because then you have to make hard decisions around when that revenue drops," Westfield Washington Schools Superintendent Dr. John Atha said.
City and school district leaders outlined their concerns during a joint meeting Wednesday night, explaining why Westfield's rapid population growth hasn't kept up with school infrastructure growth: empty nesters.
Sixty percent of Westfield taxpayers do not have children in Westfield public schools, city leaders noted.
"Our kids are graduating, and we're not moving out of those homes, and that's creating this bubble or lack of housing for new families to come and young families who also have kids to backfill the kids that are graduating," Willis said.
According to data from the Builders Association of Greater Indianapolis, new home permits for Westfield hit an all-time high in 2024 with 1,647. However, the number was down 34% for the first 11 months of 2025.
City leaders say they need nearly 2,200 total home sales per year to maintain a healthy school district. For the past three years, that number has been closer to 1,600.
The information surprised parents at Wednesday's meeting.
"Westfield's growing so fast, it was really good information to learn that it's not growing fast enough to keep up with the schools," Westfield parent Mendi Cooley said.
Mayor Willis acknowledged the city has slowed its approval of new developments in recent years.
"We've only approved 4 or 5 subdivisions since I took office. That's in two years. It used to be 1 a month or 2 a month," Willis said. "We're going to have to go back to looking at these projects and saying this fits our community. Let's move forward with that kind of project."
Officials recognize the challenge won't be resolved quickly.
