CHRISTIANSBURG -- Montgomery County might need to build a new school in the outskirts of Blacksburg to accommodate new residential developments before it needs to use the old Blacksburg Middle School campus downtown, according to projected enrollment figured presented to the school board Tuesday night.

Board members plan to study more than 100 pages of maps and statistics looking as far as 90 years out before they talk about what to do with the old middle school property again.

The enrollment figures provided by Ohio firm DeJong-Healy show that, in the next 10 years, the Blacksburg schools would see the largest increase in enrollment among the four strands, with the Auburn and Christiansburg schools following.

Blacksburg could see growth along its outer boundaries, such as the Toms Creek or Mount Tabor neighborhoods.

Last month, board members said they wanted to review projected enrollment data before deciding to let go of the 20-acre campus in the heart of Blacksburg. Through a contract with the school board, DeJong-Healy updates its enrollment projections annually.

The firm suggests that with moderate growth in the next decade, Blacksburg could gain 266 more students. Auburn would see 57 more, Christiansburg would see 42 more and Shawsville could lose 18 students.

DeJong-Healy looks at live birth rates and housing growth and historical enrollment to make its projections.

School board members said they will take all the data into consideration and will not automatically say the old middle school is off limits.

"We can't rule anything out at this point," board member Joe Ivers said Wednesday. Ivers said he'd like to spend at least the next two weeks poring over the documents.

"The citizenry needs to realize that we need to take a second look at" the old Blacksburg Middle School on Main Street because the demographics have changed since 2001, when it was replaced by a new middle school on Prices Fork Road.

From 2001-07, permits issued to build single-family housing permits in Blacksburg were on the rise, peaking at 665 in 2004. But in 2007, the town issued only 359 such permits.

Conversely, multi-family housing permits grew sharply last year up to 308 compared with 27 the previous year. The town now has 11 multi-family and single-family developments planned, which could yield about 160 new students, the report said.

Schools such as Harding Avenue, Margaret Beeks and Price's Fork elementaries are expected to see the largest influx of students, according to the data. The school board still is waiting on land for a new school in Prices Fork to alleviate overcrowding.

Price's Fork Principal Dollie Cottrill says, for an hour and a half every day, there is a constant stream of students walking from portables to indoor classrooms for art and music lessons.

A new school would hold up to 600 students and accommodate the projected increase up to 10 years out.

The town's newest elementary school, 1993-built Kipps, already is overcrowded by nearly 60 students. It has three portable units. In 10 years, it could have as many as 544 students, according to the projections.

Other areas near the edges of town, such as Ellett Valley and Mount Tabor, could see new developments, too.

To fit in all those students, Assistant Superintendent Walt Shannon said, "one possibility would be to look for another school site other than the old middle school site that could be somewhere else in the county."

"Do we really need to be looking in the northeast sector outside of Blacksburg?" he asked board members Tuesday.

Shannon suggested selling the former middle school property and using the cash to buy land in one of those areas. The school board already owns 68 acres near the current Blacksburg Middle School that could be developed.

Still, board member Phyllis Albritton said she has concerns about the number of families that could move into newly developed subdivisions, such as Fiddler's Green, which is within walking distance to the old middle school campus. It is expected to have 165 single-family homes.

Board members have said they will talk about what to do with the former middle school property again soon, but they did not say when it would again be an agenda topic.

In action Tuesday, the board approved a request for proposal to remove the Ward House. The 1930s-era house is on property adjacent to Harding Avenue Elementary School in Blacksburg. Since 1969, the school system has rented out the 1,000-square-foot home for $150 a month to the last generation of the Ward family. The house is vacant now that the final family member died, and the school system wants to use the land for a parking lot or even a playground.