Mira Loma Jail Seen as School Site : Education: Expelled students could continue their studies in the former detention facility, according to a proposal to county supervisors.

Local school officials want to see troublesome students spend time in jail, and what’s more, they want the youths to volunteer.

That’s the idea behind a request to be presented today to the County Board of Supervisors that the abandoned Mira Loma jail in Lancaster be made available as classroom space for students expelled from the Antelope Valley Union High School District.

Under the proposal, classes would be held in the visitors’ center or another large room at the facility. Officials hope the austere surroundings might have a beneficial effect on the youths, who could volunteer to attend after being ejected from their regular campuses for weapons possession or other serious offenses, said district Trustee Bill Olenick.

“It’s not a jail cell, but it certainly has the visual impact of a guard tower and barbed wire surrounding the facility,” Olenick said.

A handful of deputies working out of Mira Loma to relieve crowding at the Antelope Valley Sheriff’s Station would serve as an additional deterrent to untoward behavior, Olenick said.

But many teachers oppose the idea, saying that it undermines the district’s “zero tolerance” program that automatically expels students for serious offenses, said Dave Kennedy, president of the Antelope Valley Teachers Assn.

Offering a last-ditch schooling alternative “weakens the message we should be sending to our students,” he said.

More than 200 students were expelled from the district last year. Olenick said some deserve another chance.

“These are the students that need education the most,” he said. “My district, frankly, is uncomfortable with turning them on the community full-time.”

But having expelled students on the streets is “a law enforcement problem,” Kennedy said. “Our problem is trying to make the campuses that our students attend as safe as possible.”

Kennedy said he is also concerned that the district wants to open the school so it will not lose the per-student revenue the state gives school districts.

Olenick rejected the allegation, calling the school a “break-even” venture only if Mira Loma can be used free of charge.

“So long as a student is fixable, we have a responsibility to try and help them get through school and improve their lives,” he said.

County Supervisor Michael Antonovich will sponsor today’s proposal, which requests that the school district be allowed to use the facility free of charge, subject to cancellation if it is needed for other uses.

The jail, with room for 1,900 inmates, was closed last year because of county budget cuts. Olenick said the school could open within 30 days if the county approves it.

The school would be a “step below” three existing continuation schools in the district, which work with about 750 problem students, because it would deal with more serious offenders, Olenick said. He said the facility would probably not offer diplomas, but students who perform well might be allowed to re-enter district schools.

Olenick said he believes some students would voluntarily enroll at the school, even though it would be much more disciplined than a normal classroom, because it would be preferable to a life on the streets.

“We have some kids who are good kids 99% of the time and did something stupid,” he said.