School Enrollment Becomes More Diverse; Growth Slows : Education: Largest increases are at juvenile court facilities for delinquents and dropouts, according to an Orange County Department of Education annual report.

Enrollment in Orange County public schools continued to grow slightly and become more ethnically diverse last year, while programs that educate dropouts and delinquents have seen a sharp rise in attendance, new statistics show.

By far the largest increases in enrollment were in the county-run juvenile court schools, alternative high schools and home-schooling programs. The number of students in court schools and the alternative program--which consists mainly of independent study and handles students who have dropped out or been expelled from local districts--jumped nearly 25% to 3,227 last fall, according to an annual report just released by the Orange County Department of Education.

“There are a lot more young people out there who are getting themselves in trouble,” said William Habermehl, assistant superintendent of the Department of Education, who runs the programs.

Habermehl and John F. Dean, the county superintendent, attributed the sharp rise to an increase in juvenile delinquency and to the countywide trend toward “zero tolerance” discipline policies, which dictate that schools will expel students after even a single incident of weapon possession, drug use or other offense.

The county Department of Education has dealt with the enrollment surge by assigning more students per teacher in the independent study arena, hiring more part-time teachers and opening several new independent study locations over the past year.

“I wish the need weren’t there, as all of society does, but it is a safety valve for the local school districts,” Dean said. “We began this service a long time ago to be sure that there was a place for these kids to go. If we can help them by putting these students into a different program, that’s why (the county department of education is) here.”

Meanwhile, the number of students being taught at home jumped nearly 14%, to 742 this year. But the number enrolled in the county’s special education programs dropped 33% to 487 largely because disabled students in the Garden Grove area are now taught through the local school district.

In mainstream school programs, demographics continued to shift as expected, with white students making up a smaller percentage of the population and school districts near the county borders growing most quickly.

Overall, enrollment for the fall of 1993 was 404,465, a record high that represents a 1.3% rise from the previous year. Boys make up 51.5% of the students and girls 48.5%.

“We have more demands on teachers, and we’re not doing much in the way of building so we’re having to absorb more and more students into the same classrooms,” Dean said. “It’s a constant challenge to satisfy the needs of the students when we have, in essence, less money.”

Whites were the only ethnic group whose representation in local schools dropped this year, from 49.2% of the total to 47.9%. But ethnic diversity is still wildly different across districts: in Santa Ana Unified, whites make up less than 5% of the student body, whereas in Laguna Beach Unified, they are 85%.

The Latino student body swelled 3.4%, and now fills 35% of the classrooms overall. Asians and blacks each increased their numbers about 2%, to make up 12.6% and 2% of the county’s public school population.

Six of the county’s 27 school districts, including the three that serve only high school students, dropped in enrollment this year.

The largest gains besides the county-run programs came in Los Alamitos, Tustin and the sprawling South County district, Capistrano Unified.

Los Alamitos Unified, a small district that enjoys one of the best reputations in the region and often draws students from outside its borders, had a surge of more than 6%, which assistant superintendent David Hatton attributed to the new preschool program, an increase in transfers from other districts and new families moving into the community.

Tustin grew 4.6% and, for the first time, whites became a minority in the district. Supt. David Andrews said the growth comes from the new housing development, Tustin Ranch, and a growing number of families crowding into apartments on the district’s south side.

Capistrano Unified, which encompasses most of the county’s sparsely developed turf, also grew about 4.6%, and plans to absorb the larger population with five new elementary schools next fall.

“This is a growing district,” said Supt. James A. Fleming. “We’ll be ready.”

Public School Growth Slows Orange County’s school enrollment exceeded 400,000 students last fall, continuing a growth trend. Since 1989 the total number of students has increased 12%, but the growth rate has slowed slightly. Enrollment and percentage increase 1989: 360,213; 2.7% 1990: 375,579; 4.3% 1991: 390,898; 4.1% 1992: 399,592; 2.2% 1993: 404,465; 1.2% Diverse Enrollment Whites made up nearly half public school enrollment, not including adult education or preschool. The ethnic makeup of county schools: White: 48% Latino: 35% Asian: 13% Black: 2% All others: 2% District Changes Just six districts experienced enrollment decreases between 1992 and 1993, led by Huntington Beach Union’s near 4% decline. Santa Ana Unified is still the biggest district in the county. Fluctuations between 1992 and 1993:

School District Fall, 1992 Fall, 1993 % Change Elementary Anaheim City 16,647 17,019 2.2 Buena Park 4,747 4,825 1.6 Centralia 4,648 4,776 2.8 Cypress 4,113 4,251 3.4 Fountain Valley 5,942 5,912 -0.5 Fullerton 11,239 11,243 0.0 Huntington 5,751 5,849 1.7 Beach City La Habra 4,970 5,130 3.2 Magnolia 5,190 5,224 0.7 Ocean View 8,764 8,934 1.9 Savanna 2,127 2,063 -3.0 Westminster 8,552 8,739 2.2 High School Anaheim Union 24,770 24,111 -2.7 Fullerton Union 13,222 12,782 -3.3 Huntington 13,917 13,391 -3.8 Beach Union Unified Brea Olinda 5,296 5,474 3.7 Capistrano 29,984 31,428 4.6 Garden Grove 41,162 41,664 1.2 Irvine 21,405 21,688 1.3 Laguna Beach 2,365 2,437 3.0 Los Alamitos 7,152 7,605 6.3 Newport-Mesa 17,447 17,560 0.7 Orange 26,336 26,387 0.2 Placentia 22,524 22,482 -0.2 -Yorba Linda Saddleback 27,079 27,721 2.4 Santa Ana 48,406 48,896 1.0 Tustin 11,860 12,407 4.6 County 3,977 4,467 12.3 -operated Total 399,592 404,465 1.2

Source: Orange County Department of Education