Choices Outlined to Ease School Crowding

The Los Angeles school system must take drastic steps to handle surging enrollment, including reopening closed schools and putting some classes for kindergarten through the second grade at junior high schools, according to a report released Thursday.

The desperation for creative solutions reached its peak when school board member Rita Walters suggested that school buses be equipped with teachers or piped-in educational programs to alleviate time wasted during up to three-hour daily rides for some students.

While Walters acknowledged that her suggestion is probably a pipe dream, the report presented some harsh realities. It concluded that 106 schools must increase capacity by 23% to meet an expected 15,000 rise in enrollment by July, 1991. The report recommended that 34 schools adopt multitrack schedules next year or come up with their own alternatives.

Switching to a multitrack system allows schools to accommodate up to one-third more pupils by dividing the student body into groups that attend school on staggered schedules, with one group on vacation at all times.

“We’re going to . . . have to take advantage of every opportunity we have,” said Gordon Wohlers, an assistant to district Supt. Bill Anton and one of the report’s authors. “The state is not going to be able to build the schools we need.”

Wohlers said the district has enough money to build schools to serve about 12,000 pupils, but construction is expected to take years.

Other suggested solutions include adding portable classrooms and increasing the number of students per classroom while also adding teachers and aides.

In addition, the report recommended changing the grade levels at some schools. For example, room at elementary schools could be found by shifting sixth graders to some junior highs that now enroll students in grades seven through nine. Ninth graders would be bumped to high schools that formerly housed grades 10 through 12.

The 89 elementary schools, 12 junior highs and five senior highs that must increase capacity by 23% can select one of the recommended options or come up with their own plans. Each school will hold an election in February or March so that parents, teachers and staff can vote on which option to implement.

Public hearings have been scheduled for Thursday and Jan. 10 to discuss the report. The school board is expected to vote on the report at its Jan. 14 meeting.

The report also raised concerns about how overcrowding is affecting the quality of education. It recommended that multitrack schools reduce enrollment to 90% of capacity and that elementary schools with 1,200 or more pupils should not be forced to accept students bused from other neighborhoods. Instead, the report urged that the district find schools with small enrollments to provide bused students with personal attention and a more nurturing environment.

“We have to begin to change our mentality of how many children can we stuff into one small place,” said Board President Jackie Goldberg.

About 161 schools throughout the district are already on multitrack systems and all schools will begin year-round schedules in July, although exact dates have not been adopted by the board.

Specific changes recommended in the report include:

* Opening a special school for kindergarten through second grade at McClay Junior High School in Pacoima for 300 youngsters.

* Studying the feasibility of reopening about seven closed schools. The district expects to reopen portions of Burton Elementary School in Panorama City, which is now used for administrative space. School officials want to reopen Osage Elementary School in Westchester, but lack the $1.7 million to do so.

* Continuing talks with the city of Los Angeles to open a kindergarten in City Hall, which would require a waiver from the state. The city already runs a preschool program there.

* Changing the grade levels at schools in Gardena and Eagle Rock. The district is also evaluating similar plans for elementary and junior high schools that feed into Chatsworth, Granada Hills, Hamilton, Kennedy, Marshall, University and Venice senior high schools.