All L.A. Schools Closed as a Precaution

The prospect of more heavy rain pelting Southern California has forced the Los Angeles Unified School District to close all 651 campuses today, the first time in district officials’ memory that schools have been shut down because of inclement weather.

Initially, the district intended to make school closure decisions on a case-by-case basis. But Supt. Bill Anton decided Thursday that it would be a “common sense” precaution to cancel classes after several storms have wreaked havoc throughout the area.

“The forecast for continued heavy rains on Friday, the concerned calls from many parents, . . . . and the fact that Gov. Pete Wilson and the mayor’s office have declared a state of emergency in the Los Angeles area dictated that a districtwide school closure decision would be a prudent common sense precaution,” said a statement released by the district.

The closure affects about 560,000 kindergarten-through-12th-grade students, 360,000 of whom would have been returning today from an eight-week winter break. Today would have been the first day of the spring semester for those students because of the district’s year-round calendar, which established different vacation schedules in order to help alleviate school crowding.

Schools spokesman Shel Erlich said this was the first time in the 18 years he has worked for the district that he could recall all schools closing because of bad weather.

The closures also will occur at special education schools, children’s centers, adult schools and occupational centers, as well as playgrounds and recreational facilities run by the district. School offices will remain open, with at least one administrator available to respond to phone calls.

Except for plant and cafeteria managers, classroom teachers and other school-site employees will not have to report for work Friday. All employees will be paid for the day, district officials said.

All district campuses are scheduled to reopen Tuesday, after the Presidents’ Day holiday Monday.

According to the Los Angeles County Office of Education, only one other county school district reported that it will be closed today. The El Monte City Elementary School District will reopen its schools Tuesday “in light of the safety issue as well as parent concerns,” said Supt. Jeff Seymour.

Several private and parochial schools have also chosen to cancel classes. The Crossroads School for Arts and Sciences in Santa Monica closed Thursday and is to reopen Tuesday. At least a dozen of the more than 280 elementary and senior high schools operated by the Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles have also closed because of the weather, a spokeswoman said.

Some private schools that closed earlier in the week are scheduled to be open today, including Viewpoint School in Calabasas and Pepperdine University in Malibu.