CANOGA PARK : Neighbors Oppose School Expansion

An Armenian private school faces neighborhood opposition to its plan to add on to the campus library and boost enrollment to 1,000 students.

The Armenian General Benevolent Union-Marie Manoogian School--which started two decades ago with 17 students--is now over capacity with 800 students from pre-kindergarten to high school, said Sinan Sinanian, chairman of the school board.

Under zoning regulations, the school is only allowed to have 600 students.

Denise Binder, planning deputy for City Councilwoman Laura Chick, said some neighbors have circulated a petition stating concerns about the expansion, contending that parents dropping off children at the school have caused traffic problems.

Sinanian, who met with a group of concerned neighbors to prepare the proposal, said many were upset not just about the number of cars, but also the driving habits of some hurried parents who double-park, block driveways or drop off children where they shouldn’t.

Binder, who said Chick supports the expansion proposal, said the councilwoman will ask the school to take steps to improve the traffic problems as a condition for getting a permit.

A hearing on the expansion is expected to be scheduled for early next month.

Sinanian said the school, which serves mainly children of Armenian immigrants, has a standard academic program augmented by an hour per day of Armenian language, history and culture.

The school has grown, he said, as more Armenian parents join the flight from L.A. public schools, and with the growth of an Armenian community in the Reseda-Canoga Park area.