Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : CalArts Campus Still a Work in Progress : Education: Classes resume at school as reconstruction proceeds. Students apply elbow grease as well as creativity.

On the first day of school, Kathleen Thorson spent the morning choosing her desk and other furnishings from a haphazard stack of items in a storage room, then lugging them off to class.

Thorson, 21, is an animation student at the California Institute of the Arts, which suffered almost $30 million in damage from the Northridge earthquake. Monday marked not only the start of the school’s 25th year of classes, but the first time all the buildings on campus were open since the temblor.

Reconstruction continues, with construction workers, oversize dumpsters and yellow warning tape still present on much of the art school’s 60-acre campus. And some classrooms were not in move-in condition. Thorson, like many students on campus for the beginning of the fall semester, had to haul bookshelves and other necessary items into class.

But the sophomore said the status of being a returning student took some of the pain out of the backbreaking work.

“The freshmen will get the leftovers,” she said.

More than 1,000 students are expected to enroll for the fall semester, about the same number as last year, according to spokeswoman Anita Bonnell.

“I wouldn’t say everything is back to normal, but we’re getting there,” said Bonnell. College officials expect the repairs to be completed as early as next week.

Classes resumed two weeks after the earthquake in 16 nearby locations, including a vacant Lockheed facility in Valencia, the Magic Moments Theatre at the Six Flags Magic Mountain amusement park and Temple Beth Shalom in Newhall.

On Monday, students generally praised the speed of the rebuilding effort, dismissing a few dented file cabinets and chairs scattered throughout the campus as part of the “lived-in” look that’s normal for the campus. Many said aging equipment and classrooms have been replaced with better materials.

“I think most of the school had things that were outdated in places,” said Julia Paull, a photography student. “It’s nice to see it updated.”

But there were a few gripes, especially about a wood floor in the college’s main gallery that was being replaced with cork tile.

“That’s the one thing I can’t stand,” said John Puente, a senior. “They had the nicest wooden floors and they took them out.”

The wood floor buckled during the quake and federal funds would not cover the extra cost of replacing it, said CalArts Vice President John Fuller. He said the cork-and-hard-rubber surface will also be more resilient.

Alina Phelan, a theater student, said the brand-new appearance in some rooms has taken away some of the school’s charm.

“I think it sort of looks like a hospital,” she said. “I hope they paint the walls soon because it all looks very white.”

The college has received about $22 million from the Federal Emergency Management Agency and $4.4 million in grants and gifts to pay for repairs, Fuller said. The school is borrowing money for needs that still remain.

About $23 million alone was earmarked for structural damage to the 500,000-square-foot main building, where most classes are held. Dorms and other college property sustained relatively minor damage.

Few students said they thought of leaving CalArts in the aftermath of the earthquake because many of the school’s programs can’t be found elsewhere. And hearing about the temblor didn’t discourage first-year film student Kurando Mitsutake, who came from Japan to attend classes.

“We have tons of earthquakes over there,” he said. “It’ll be like home.”