Crunch Worsens in Santa Ana’s Schools

Enrollment is higher than expected this year in Santa Ana’s already-overcrowded schools, officials have reported.

The Santa Ana Unified School District had expected to gain about 1,100 students by June, 1988. But a district official said enrollment this year has already increased by 1,321 students--and is still growing. The district’s enrollment is 38,239.

Much of the district’s growth in previous years has been from the influx of illegal immigrants. Yet last year the number of students from those families decreased for the first time, dropping by 500, according to Assistant Supt. Anthony Dalessi. Although no figures are available, Dalessi and others said that trend appears to be continuing.

Santa Ana Unified’s growth has necessitated year-round operation at 12 of the district’s elementary schools and the placement of portable buildings and trailers on every campus in the school district.

“We’re going to have to get more portable classrooms,” Dalessi said. “And we’re running into problems with the state, since there is no more money left for school construction.”

The district plans to build 12 new elementary schools, one intermediate school and one new high school. The new high school, to be called Century High, was scheduled to open in the fall of 1988, but Dalessi said the revised schedule now calls for the campus to open in the fall of 1989.

Santa Ana Unified is somewhat of an island of increasing student enrollment surrounded by districts with declining school populations. Those bordering districts include Orange Unified, Garden Grove Unified, Huntington Beach Union High School District and Fountain Valley School District.

Both Dalessi and school board board President Sadie Reid-Benham said the growth is not harming children’s education.

“The recent CAP (California Assessment Program) scores for our district showed we’re continuing to go up,” Dalessi said. “Education is not suffering.”