Housing Boom Rebounds to Schools : Districts Report Moderate to Extensive Gains in Enrollment

Schools in the Antelope Valley opened to full classrooms this week because of waves of children moving into new tract houses.

Housing construction caused smaller enrollment increases in some other suburban districts in the Santa Clarita Valley and eastern Ventura County.

“We are at capacity districtwide, and half of our students are in temporary classrooms,” Pamela Johnson, facilities coordinator of the Palmdale School District, said Friday.

Palmdale, one of seven school districts in the Antelope Valley, is one of the fastest-growing in California. Its enrollment increased 14% this fall to about 11,180 kindergarten through eighth-grade students, Johnson said. The district has 12 permanent and six temporary schools, and two schools are to open this year.

More Growth Expected

In the nearby Westside and Eastside union school districts, officials said they expect the growth to continue for several years. Enrollment at the Eastside district in Lancaster grew 24% over last year, with about 1,400 kindergarten through eighth-grade students, said Becky Hargraves, the district’s data base manager.

Enrollment in the Westside district grew 15% to about 3,500 students in kindergarten through eighth grades, Assistant Supt. Allan Sacks said.

“We’re building one intermediate school, we’re adding classrooms to other schools, and we’re looking for new school sites right now,” Sacks said. “I don’t foresee a slowing down in the next five to 10 years.”

Officials in the Keppel Union School District in Littlerock report a 13% enrollment increase, with 2,622 kindergarten through eighth-grade students. In the Lancaster School District, enrollment is up 10%, with a total of 10,455 students in kindergarten through eighth grades, officials said.

The Antelope Valley Union High School District reported a 4% enrollment increase to 9,506 students. Officials there said they are bracing for larger increases in the future as children grow older.

“We have five high schools, including two that opened this fall and two more that are planned to be opened next year,” said Terri Blackburn, a district spokeswoman.

The seven school districts serving the Santa Clarita Valley communities of Newhall, Saugus, Valencia and Canyon Country also reported fall enrollment increases.

The Saugus and Sulphur Springs union school districts reported 7% more pupils than a year ago. Saugus has 5,442 elementary school students, while Sulphur Springs this year reports enrollment of about 3,200 students.

In the tiny Gorman School District, enrollment jumped a record 39%, from 44 to 61. “People are moving up here from the city,” said Wes Thomas, the district’s superintendent, principal and part-time teacher.

Enrollment at the Castaic Union School District grew 14% to 1,326 students in kindergarten through eighth grade, officials said.

Enrollment Tapering

Growth has slowed a bit this year in the Newhall School District, officials said. This week, enrollment totaled about 4,300 students, an increase of about 2.5% over last year, they said.

“We expect the growth to continue,” Assistant Supt. Herb Bartelt said. “We will probably build two or three new schools in the next five years and then two or three more after that.”

In the Hughes-Elizabeth Lakes Union School District, enrollment at the district’s one school went up 2% to about 417 students. “We’re at capacity now,” said Cathy Young, a district spokeswoman.

At the William S. Hart Union High School District, which serves the Santa Clarita Valley, enrollment went up 2.5% over last year for a total of 9,365 students, officials said.

In eastern Ventura County, enrollment increased slightly more than 4% in the Moorpark Unified School District over last year, officials said. Growth in the city, once one of the fastest growing in the state, has leveled off a bit, with an increase of about 200 students over last year for a total this fall of 4,812 students.

Enrollment dropped slightly in the Conejo and Simi Valley unified school districts.

Enrollment in the Conejo district in Thousand Oaks fell about 2% to 17,100 students, Assistant Supt. Sara Hart said. High schools in the district lost about 300 students and the district’s total enrollment dropped 400 students, she said. Enrollment in elementary schools is up slightly and is expected to push up total enrollment in future years, she said.

In Simi Valley, enrollment fell about 1.4% over last year, Associate Supt. Cathi Vogel said. This week, schools in the district reported enrollment of 18,293 students, a decrease of about 255 students from last year.

“The past few years have been stable,” with that trend expected to continue, Vogel said.

The Pleasant Valley Unified School District, which serves Camarillo, has an enrollment increase of 2% over last year, for a total of 6,203 students, Assistant Supt. Howard Hamilton said.

The Oak Park Unified School District, which serves the Ventura County community of Oak Park, reported a 14% enrollment increase over last year. Completion of new housing has pushed enrollment to 1,540 students, officials said.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District increased its enrollment over last year by 8%, for a total of 9,281 kindergarten through 12th-grade students. The district, which serves the communities of Agoura, Agoura Hills and Calabasas, has been growing at a similar pace for about three years because of residential construction, officials said.

The Los Angeles Unified School District will not have enrollment figures until next month, officials said. Last year, about 127,000 students attended Los Angeles schools in the San Fernando Valley.

Enrollment in the Glendale Unified School District increased about 4% to about 24,000 students, officials said. Similar enrollment increases in the past two years have come mostly from an influx of Armenian immigrants, district spokesman Vic Pallos said.

Burbank Unified School District officials said enrollment dropped for the first time in five years. The total enrollment this week of 11,268 students is about 1% lower than last year, officials said.

“It’s unusual,” district researcher Kathy Keller said. “We’d planned for an increase this year.”