School Enrollment May Set Record in Fall, Rise in ‘90s : Education: A 4% increase is predicted over last year’s figures.

More than 5 million students--one-sixth of the state’s population--are expected to enroll in California public schools this fall, the state Department of Finance said Tuesday.

The department’s population experts said about 198,000 more students in kindergarten through 12th grade will attend public schools, a 4% increase over the 1990-91 school year.

They also expect the record enrollment to continue increasing throughout the rest of the decade--up to 7.2 million.

The rapid growth is forcing many communities, especially in Southern California, to scramble even harder to build enough schools.

“Seeing these numbers is sobering,” said Bill Honig, state superintendent of public instruction. “When you consider the deterioration of social conditions and the fact that one in five students doesn’t speak English, it catches your breath a little.”

Demographers attributed the growth to high birth rates and to large numbers of people moving into the state.

Leading the student boom is Riverside County, where enrollment is expected to grow by 100.7% over 10 years. The county, which had 218,100 public school students in 1990, is expected to have 437,700 by the year 2000.

Close behind is San Bernardino County, where demographers are predicting a 93.6% spurt during the same period--from 285,200 in 1990 to 552,300. A 55.2% increase is projected for schools in San Diego County (from 387,900 to 601,900), while those in Orange County are expected to grow by 48.3% (from 368,300 to 546,200).

The Orange County numbers have been growing particularly in centralized cities and South County, where development has increased substantially.

In the past two school years, for example, Santa Ana Unified has risen 14%, from 42,845 students to 45,964 students. This fall, district officials expect the number of students to reach 48,000.

In South County, Capistrano Unified has had a steady increase in enrollment for several years, increasing by about 1,700 students annually, district officials said. In September, the district will set up 50 portable classrooms for students.

A 40.4% increase (from 1.37 million to 1.93 million) is anticipated for schools in Los Angeles County. Among them is the Los Angeles Unified School District--the nation’s second-largest--which had 625,000 students last year and expects to add another 15,000 this year.