Newhall Board Ruling Turns School Days Into Nightmare for Parents

Janet Smith spent hours this summer as a volunteer for the wrong Parent-Teacher Assn.

Debi Neavitt had her daughter’s records transferred to the wrong school.

Samantha Kirby showed her children the wrong route to school.

Through no fault of their own, all three had the mistaken impression that their children would be attending Valencia Valley Elementary School in Newhall. But nine days before classes started today, they learned that their children were among 66 others who had been reassigned Old Orchard Elementary School to avoid crowding.

The 11th-hour decision by the Newhall Board of Education to redraw school boundaries--for the third time since May--exasperated parents and left many questioning the board’s ability to cope with skyrocketing enrollment.

‘Really Crazy’

“It’s bad enough getting geared up for school, but not being sure where the kids would go this fall has been really crazy,” said Smith, who volunteered several hours a week for Valencia Valley’s PTA before learning her two children had been reassigned.

“I think the board made a mistake by making decisions without much to back them up. People would have been irritated if they had waited to the last minute to decide about the boundaries, but less so than they were with all the changes.”

About 16 parents will have to make last-minute child care arrangements as a result of the redistricting, said Donna Borruel, co-director of Sunshine Day Camp, which provides child care after school to Valencia Valley pupils.

“It’s been a real heartache for the parents who’ve wondered all summer about where their kids will be all fall,” Borruel said.

There are still openings at the day-care center at Old Orchard, although space is “real tight,” said Doug Grogan, executive director of the Santa Clarita Valley chapter of the Young Men’s Christian Assn., which provides the service.

Joan Winger, president of Valencia Valley’s PTA, called the redistricting “a real disappointment” because it forced six of her volunteers to drop out.

Students Withdrawn

At least one parent, Tom Bell, is withdrawing his children from the Newhall School District and putting them in private school as a result of the shifting boundary lines.

“Any board that reverses itself three times has no credibility with me,” Bell said. “We’re very upset that they made this decision a week before school starts.”

The board’s latest plan divides pupils living in the Summit, a half-completed development of about 1,000 residents roughly bordered by the Golden State Freeway on the west, Valencia Boulevard on the north and McBean Parkway on the east and south.

About 66 pupils on the east side of the dividing line will be bused 15 minutes away to Old Orchard. Another 79 pupils on the west side will attend the new $5.3-million Valencia Valley Elementary School, Newhall School District’s sixth school.

In May, the board approved a plan that would have sent all the children from the Summit to Valencia Valley. Last year, all the children in the development attended Old Orchard.

July Projection

In July, district trustees said new enrollment projections showed that half the children from the development had to be bused to Old Orchard to avoid crowding at Valencia Valley. Outraged Summit parents, saying they want the area’s children to attend the same school, persuaded the board Aug. 8 to restore the May boundaries and to limit Valencia Valley’s enrollment to 800 students.

The decision, in turn, outraged parents in homeowner associations in housing tracts close to the school. The groups, which conducted their own population survey, said it made little sense to crowd Valencia Valley while Old Orchard, about 130 students under capacity, has room to accept more children. The board again split the Summit in two.

“The community around here is like an extended family, so it’s hard that all the children won’t be going to the same school,” said Kirby, who showed her children the route to Valencia Valley last spring when the board made its first decision. “The children will survive, but I’m worried about next year.”

Board’s Miscalculations

School officials said they’ve taken steps to ensure that redistricting will not be necessary next year, although enrollment is expected to soar because of new development in the area. They said they were forced to redraw boundary lines several times this year because they miscalculated the number of children living in the Summit by about 89 pupils.

J. Michael McGrath, superintendent of the district, said the miscalculations occurred because the district relied on outdated projections made in 1985 that “grossly underestimated” the number of children who would eventually move into the Summit. He said the district was also unaware that about 50 pupils had moved from other parts of Valencia to the new development. The district has begun computerizing records to avoid losing track of students who move, McGrath said. In addition, it is conducting an updated study to assess the number of elementary school children likely to move into the many new housing developments planned in the district, he said.

Next fall, enrollment will swell from 4,022 students to about 4,500 as a result of new development in the area, McGrath said.

The figures frighten parents, such as Neavitt, who are urging parents to get involved in helping the district plan ahead. Even school board members are worried.

“It’s a nightmare,” said board member Pat Willett. “New homes are just coming in too fast for us to accommodate in an orderly manner. Ideally, you plan for things. But when things happen like a population explosion in the Summit, all you can do is react to the numbers and change the boundaries.”