Security a Top Concern as School Year Begins : Education: Tightened dress codes and new restrictions on campus access will go into effect. Budget woes also worry officials at some districts.

When school starts Tuesday in the Centinela Valley Union High School District, students will be able to buy lunch from Taco Bell, Burger King, Pizza Hut, McDonald’s or Subway.

And the students won’t have to leave campus.

Because of a newly enforced closed-campus policy, students at Leuzinger and Hawthorne high schools will not be allowed to leave campus without written permission from a parent. So the district developed a food court, with fast-food vendors offering the students items ranging from tacos to foot-long tuna sandwiches.

“There had been incidents reported by police during the lunch hour,” said Joseph M. Carrillo, superintendent of the 6,000-student school district. “It’s been minimal, but they have occurred.”

Campus security is among several problems faculty and administrators in the South Bay are addressing as the new school year gets underway. Others include increasing enrollment, the pressing need for bilingual teachers and budget shortfalls that have forced school districts to consider painful cutbacks in education programs.

A key area of concern for school officials this year is security. In some South Bay schools, dress codes will be enforced. As in the past, hats and “gang attire” will be prohibited at Leuzinger and Hawthorne high schools. Hermosa Beach, meanwhile, is considering a ban on oversize clothing and open-toed shoes. And while Torrance Unified doesn’t have an official dress code for the middle schools and high schools, this year hats will be frowned upon.

“It’s important that you can identify your own kids and kids who don’t belong there,” said assistant superintendent Carol Riley of Torrance Unified.

In the Los Angeles Unified School District, which has 59 elementary and high schools in the South Bay, district officials have stepped up security efforts following several campus shooting incidents during the past school year.

Students with weapons face expulsion and possible arrest, and anyone on an LAUSD campus may be subject to an unannounced, random search with a portable, hand-held metal detector.

In some South Bay schools, budget woes coupled with climbing enrollment pose another set of problems.

While increasing enrollment is likely to mean more state revenues for the recently reorganized school districts in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, for instance, administrators are not sure they will receive enough new money to cover the added costs.

“It’s horrendous,” said Helen Sellers, director of accounting at the Redondo Beach Unified School District. “We’re trying to be very frugal and not spend money that we don’t have or expect to get. The main thing is we don’t want to make any commitments we won’t be able to meet.”

The uncertainty is not expected to affect Redondo classrooms, Sellers said. School officials have already ordered all the books and supplies they will need for students on Sept. 14, when the school bell rings in the new year. But negotiations with teachers and other school employees who have requested raises have come to a standstill.

Administrators at the Manhattan Beach Unified School District have a better fix on what they can expect in state funding this year, but the picture isn’t very promising. The district, which has about $20 million in general fund revenue, is facing a $1.9-million deficit this year.

“We’re currently in discussions regarding the elimination of some special programs for art, music and physical education,” said Supt. Gerald Davis. “We’re looking at every program, kindergarten through 12th grade, in order to balance the budget and get through these tough times.”

Complicating matters for some South Bay schools is a large influx of immigrants that has heightened the need for bilingual teachers. In the Lawndale Elementary School District, 13 of the 25 new teachers hired in the district will focus on Spanish and English bilingual education. Of those 13, two also speak Vietnamese and will serve the large number of Vietnamese immigrant children at Anderson and Roosevelt schools.

In Lennox Elementary School District, where school started Aug. 18, English is the second language for most of the 5,800 students. According to district officials, one of the reasons the district went on a modified year-round calendar is to shorten the breaks between language instruction.

“We don’t want them to have the long summer to forget English,” said Daniel Jurenka, an assistant superintendent of educational services. “Teachers say the three-week breaks keep the students up to speed.”

Back to Class

Here’s a look at the start-up dates for classes in South Bay school districts:

Centinela Valley Union High: Sept. 7

El Segundo Unified: Sept. 9

Hawthorne: Year-round. Track A began July 9, Track C and D began July 8, Track B began Aug. 9

Hermosa Beach City: Sept. 15

Inglewood Unified: Sept. 8 for Inglewood High, Morningside High and four elementary schools. The remaining schools are on year-round schedules. Track B, C and D began July 5. Track A began Aug. 2.

Lawndale: Sept. 7

Lennox: Year-round. School started Aug. 18

Los Angeles Unified: Sept. 7 for 51 of the 59 LAUSD schools in the South Bay. Eight schools are on year-round schedules. Track A began Aug. 16; Track B, C and D began July 5.

Manhattan Beach City: Sept. 14

Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified: Sept. 7

Redondo Beach City Unified: Sept. 14

Torrance Unified: Sept. 9 for elementary schools, Sept. 8 for middle and high schools

Wiseburn: Sept. 14

* COUNTY CUTBACKS

Wiseburn, Lennox school districts lose funds for crossing guards. B5