Like school administrators across North Carolina, Queen has had to be creative when it comes to coping with the rapidly increasing number of school-age children. According to the 2000 Census, North Carolina's population aged 17 and younger increased 22 percent since 1990, from 1.61 million to 1.96 million. The increase reflects a national trend baby boomers are having babies and North Carolina's own dilemma of more people moving in, according to John Dornan, director of the Public School Forum of North Carolina.
Economic growth is a double-edged sword.
The more people you attract to the state, the more services need to be provided. Census figures show Hoke County had the state's largest proportion of residents 17 and under, with children accounting for 29.8 percent of its 31,324 residents. Robeson County was second with 29 percent of its residents 17 and under. Hoke County also had the fourth-highest percentage increase of 17 and under population, climbing 43.7 percent to 10,190 in a decade. Wake County had the highest 61.1 percent.