SANTA ANA : Schools’ Enrollment Climbs Nearly 3,000

The Santa Ana Unified School District, already the largest school district in Orange County, has an enrollment increase of almost 3,000 students this year--the equivalent of four elementary schools.

The district prepared for the record increase by installing 26 portable classrooms throughout the district last summer, with nine more soon to be added, according to Mike Vail, senior director of facilities.

“We had a fairly smooth opening of school in terms of housing,” said Anthony J. Dalessi, assistant superintendent for support services.

Although the record number of students came as no surprise, officials did not expect so many students to show up for the first day of school, Sept. 10.

Enrollment in the district has been traditionally low during the first week, with many new students not starting classes until after Mexican Independence Day, Sept. 16, Dalessi said.

“People have just been more aware of getting their kids to school,” Dalessi said. “Also, school started later this year and on the same day as L.A. Unified, which attracts a lot of media attention, so that may have helped.”

Last year, the district had a record enrollment of 42,845 students. That number has jumped to 45,200 so far this year, with another 300 students expected to enroll by the end of this week, Dalessi said.

Santa Ana, the ninth largest school district in the state, has been building schools at a rate of about two per year to accommodate a steady influx of students. With enrollment expected to continue to climb for several more years, the district is considering putting more of its elementary schools on a year-round calendar, Dalessi said.

Currently, 14 of the district’s 26 elementary schools operate year-round.