Downey : Lewis Elementary School to Reopen by Fall of ’91

The Downey Unified School District Board of Education has decided to reopen Lewis Elementary School, which has not been used for elementary classes for 13 years, to help cope with anticipated overcrowded conditions next year.

The board voted unanimously to reopen the school for the start of the 1991-92 academic year. Located at 13220 S. Bellflower Blvd., the school has room for about 600 pupils in first through fifth grades, said Gary Orsinger, assistant superintendent.

Lewis was closed in June, 1977, as enrollment declined in the district, Orsinger said. Since then, the district has held adult school classes at the campus. It also leases a portion of the campus to the Steenhoek Learning Center, a private day-care center that will have to relocate.

Officials are tentatively projecting a 3% growth in the 15,500-student district next year. At that rate, the district will need space for about 460 students. The district already houses some students in portable classrooms. A committee is being formed to determine which students will attend Lewis School, Orsinger said.