Fewer Slots May Force Out Open Enrollment

With a student population expected to increase by 11,000 in the next school year, officials say the Los Angeles Unified School District’s well-received open enrollment program might soon be crowded out of existence.

Only 6,000 seats at 120 schools will be available this fall, 1,400 fewer than a year ago, officials said. The state-mandated program started in 1994 when some campuses were sparsely attended or closed. Close to 22,000 seats were available at 350 schools.

“The numbers could continue to go down rapidly,” Bruce Takeguma, an assistant director of the district’s school management services, said last week. “We can offer the program to the extent that it’s possible. If there’s no space for students, there’s no space.”

Officials attributed the decrease not only to the growing student population, which is expected this fall to reach an all-time high of 709,000, but also to a strong Southern California economy that has enabled more families to afford higher housing costs in neighborhoods with excellent schools.

Residency is the best way to ensure admittance, officials said, as state law requires every school to accommodate its neighborhood students before offering open enrollment.

Many schools are operating with limited classroom space, caused by an increase in the number of students requiring smaller special-education classes and implementation of the district’s class-size reduction program.

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The latter mandates a maximum student-teacher ratio in kindergarten through third grades, and some ninth-grade classes, of 20 to 1.

Today marks the beginning of the monthlong period in which parents may apply to send their children to any school in the district.

Takeguma and other administrators warned of disappointment, particularly in the San Fernando Valley and the Westside, home to many highly regarded schools, such as El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills and Palms Middle School in the Palms area of Los Angeles.

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Both have offered open enrollment in the past, Takeguma said, but this year have no seats available.

In a year or two, the same thing could happen at Granada Hills High School, also considered strong in academics.

With only 75 open enrollment slots at the 3,500-student campus, parents from nearby communities have inundated the school with calls, eager to discover an edge that will get their children admitted.

“They ask if they can bring in their children’s report cards or provide references,” said Principal Kathleen Rattay. “They beg, promising to volunteer at the school or do whatever it takes. I have to tell them I can’t do things that way. It’s hard.”

Critics have said this type of jockeying smacks of the elitism found in private-school application and goes against the public-school philosophy of providing an equal education to all students.

In 1993, the state Legislature enacted the open enrollment policy to give families in less-affluent areas the opportunity to send their children to schools with excellent academic records.

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Los Angeles Unified officials and school principals called it unfortunate that fewer students can take advantage of its open enrollment program, because it’s one way the district can attract or retain bright students who might otherwise attend private school.

“[Open enrollment] students who come to this school want to be here,” said Ronald Frydman, principal at Frost Middle School in Granada Hills. “They want to learn.”

The 132 open enrollment slots this fall at Frost comprise half the number available last year, Frydman said. “We’ve already received a lot of calls, and I don’t think we’ll have room for everyone,” he said. “That’s too bad, because parents should have a choice. . . . Soon, open enrollment will exist on paper only.”

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The school district’s Takeguma said he doesn’t believe the overall program will disappear completely.

“I don’t think it will reach an absolute zero,” he said. “But unless all our hopes and dreams come true, and more schools are built, [the program] could almost phase itself out.”

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Openings at Valley Schools

Here is a list of San Fernando Valley schools with open slots and the number of seats that are available for the 1999-2000 school year:

Primary centers

Van Nuys: 20

Elementary schools

Andasol Avenue, Northridge: 20

Apperson Street, Sunland: 30

Blythe Street, Reseda: 15

Brainard Avenue, Lake View Terrace: 25

Burton, Panorama City: 50

Calabash Street, Woodland Hills: 12

Calvert Street, Woodland Hills: 7

Capistrano Avenue, Canoga Park: 25

Chandler, Van Nuys: 15

Coldwater Canyon Avenue, North Hollywood: 20

Danube Avenue, Granada Hills: 10

Dearborn Street, Northridge: 30

Dyer Street, Sylmar: 20

El Oro Way, Granada Hills: 35

Gault Street, Van Nuys: 10

Germain Street, Chatsworth: 20

Hamlin Street, Canoga Park: 10

Harding Street, Sylmar: 50

Haynes, West Hills: 15

Justice Street, Canoga Park: 60

Lemay Street, Van Nuys: 40

Lockhurst Drive, Woodland Hills: 35

Mayall Street, North Hills: 25

Morningside, San Fernando: 10

Mountain View, Tujunga: 50

Nestle Avenue, Tarzana: 50

Newcastle, Reseda: 20

Osceola Street, Sylmar: 5

Parthenia Street, North Hills: 30

Pinewood Avenue, Tujunga: 10

Plainview, Tujunga: 40

Saticoy, North Hollywood: 10

Sherman Oaks: 40

Stagg Street, Van Nuys: 20

Stonehurst Avenue, Sun Valley: 19

Sunland: 35

Sylmar: 20

Tarzana: 20

Tulsa Street, Granada Hills: 10

Middle schools

Columbus, Canoga Park: 28

Frost, Granada Hills: 132

Henry, Granada Hills: 40

Holmes, Northridge: 80

Lawrence, Chatsworth: 30

Millikan, Sherman Oaks: 200

Mount Gleason, Sunland: 25

Mulholland, Van Nuys: 50

Nobel, Northridge: 30

Northridge: 38

Parkman, Woodland Hills: 250

Porter, Granada Hills: 150

Portola, Tarzana: 125

Sutter, Canoga Park: 80

High schools

Birmingham, Van Nuys: 250

Canoga Park: 100

Chatsworth: 180

Cleveland, Reseda: 217

Granada Hills: 75

Grant, Van Nuys: 100

Monroe, North Hills: 50

Reseda: 75

San Fernando: 200

Sylmar: 20

Taft, Woodland Hills: 300

Verdugo Hills, Tujunga: 100

* Source: Los Angeles Unified School District