At One School That Works, Money Might Work Wonders

California’s leadership continues to debate the level of funding for our schools. Los Angeles officials continue to debate whether and where to open new schools. In the background, there seems to be a perception that our inner-city public schools are a wasteland, that they are dangerous places where little learning goes on, and that nothing can be done. A recent visit to Huntington Park High School offers evidence that our schools are not lost, and that an old solution--money--would have a positive impact.

The trip was taken with, among others, William Lambert, governmental relations director of United Teachers-Los Angeles. The visit was not announced to the administration in advance.

Huntington High is south of downtown L.A. It is in an old, decaying, industrial and residential area, although it is surrounded by new and well-maintained single-family homes, a HUD development. The student body is nearly all Latino. It is a year-round school and was in full session during the August visit.

Huntington does not comport with the stereotypical portrait of the inner-city school. True, two armed police officers patrol the campus. A sign that says “Keep Our Schools Clean” is covered with graffiti. The dropout rate is extraordinarily high. In one wing of the school, no English is spoken by the any of the students in the halls.

The halls, however, are not the domain of uncontrolled toughs. Neither gangs nor drugs are evident. Other than the markings on the sign, graffiti is not a problem. Students seem to be listening and working. Teachers appear in control.

What the school does suffer from is intense overcrowding. In all, Huntington handles about 3,600 kids. Due to the year-round format, 2,400 kids attend at any time. The format, however, only eases the overcrowding. Kids are stuffed in every nook and cranny. A math class is taught in the light machine shop; kids with textbooks sit surrounded by machinery. Another is taught in the gym. A special education course is taught in the auditorium dressing room. Three remedial classes simultaneously are conducted in the cafeteria; there are no dividers between the classes. Kids eat lunch on tables placed on a blocked-off street. On rainy days, they are forced inside--on stairways, in the halls, wherever.

The overcrowding only will get worse. About 3,000 students are enrolled at Miles Elementary School, which feeds into Huntington.

Huntington also suffers from physical decay and poor maintenance. There is an aerial photograph of the school circa 1925 in the principal’s office. It was an impressive facility then, with its distinctive facade rising up over acres of unspoiled land.

Years of neglect have had their impact, and the current pressure on the facility only adds to the problem. Because the students attend 17 fewer days, school days are longer. At night, the school is an adult education facility for 2,400. On Saturdays, the school is the venue for an immigrant education program. It is in constant use, which strains the facility and makes it inaccessible for maintenance.

As a result, the paint and the buildings are chipping and wearing away. Live sockets are broken and exposed. Air conditioning does not work; classes are conducted in 100-degree heat, with old fans blowing hot air. Light fixtures are broken or missing bulbs; one teacher pointed out that the lights even fail to power the solar calculators that students use. The machines used in the technical classes are vintage 1940. Kids who must enter a highly competitive high-tech marketplace are being taught on yesterday’s equipment.

Teachers’ facilities make the faculty feel like unwelcome visitors. The 110 teachers present at any time have two “lounges.” One is about 12 feet by 20; with its garage-sale couches, faded paint, ancient bathroom stall and dim lighting, it resembles a tenement hotel room. The other lounge is slightly larger, but has the same discarded furniture interior. “These couches were donated by parents,” a teacher said. “The old ones had rats.” One of the school wings is equipped with a single faculty bathroom, which contains one toilet that does not flush.

But the school does not present an intractable problem. When the manifestations are drugs and gangs and students that do not listen and teachers that have given up, the problems defy short-term solution and, arguably, more money may change little. But when students are listening, and teachers have not yet given up, and the problems involve too many students and toilets that do not flush and air conditioners that do not cool and learning math in dark classrooms surrounded by outdated machines, these are things that new and better facilities can cure.

The opportunity to expand at Huntington is gone. Why did the district not expand when adjacent land was vacant? “Stupidity,” said Lambert. “Instead, homes were built, which brings in more kids.”

But the school can be improved, and new schools can be built in other places. As Huntington’s vice principal said at the end of the visit: “Give us a little help. It’s basically called money.”