L.A. School Rolls Surge by 2%; Half of Growth in Valley

Enrollment in the Los Angeles Unified School District has surged to a record 681,505 students this year--a 2% increase over last year--and children in San Fernando Valley schools account for nearly half of that growth, according to a district report to be released Monday.

District officials said the arrival of 13,881 new students is in line with projections of more than 1% growth over the next five years. More than 50,000 additional students are expected in the district by 2001.

“I wouldn’t call the growth moderate,” said Assistant Supt. Gordon Wohlers. “It’s more than most school districts in California have.”

Wohlers and other officials attributed the increase to the arrival of the grandchildren of baby boomers, whose births peaked about six or seven years ago, and an improving economy that has attracted newcomers.

They also say efforts to reduce class sizes in kindergarten through third grade to 20 students for every teacher is drawing children whose families had previously sent them to private schools.

District officials said the greatest increases were in the Valley, East Hollywood, Pico-Union and the southeast “hub cities,” including Bell, South Gate and Huntington Park.

But the Valley clearly led the way.

With about one-third of the district’s total enrollment, the Valley accounted for 46% of the growth this year. Last year, the Valley accounted for 42% of the district’s additional 18,570 students.

To accommodate the growth, the district plans to open two closed schools over the next two years--in Reseda and West Hills--and bus students across the Valley to the campuses.

Officials said they believe that the recovery from the Northridge earthquake--residents moving back to repaired homes and apartments--has also contributed to the increased enrollment.

But they say that busing, although not a new phenomenon, also accounts for enrollment increases, especially in the Valley. The report, they note, reflects where students attend school, not necessarily where they live.

“The buses are still flowing into the Valley,” said school board member David Tokofsky. “There’s tons of kids from other areas such as MacArthur Park and Pico-Union.”

The school district report also focused on enrollment growth by grade level, confirming that the majority of the district’s increases are occurring in elementary schools. Elementary school students accounted for 62% of this year’s increase, or an additional 8,562 students.

The growth and efforts to reduce class sizes have led officials to buy more portable classrooms, hire more teachers and reconfigure classroom schedules.