South Bay : Overcrowding Forces District to Reopen Closed School
The Wiseburn School District in Hawthorne will reopen a portion of a closed elementary school to alleviate a crunch caused by a 42% enrollment increase in the district’s three schools, officials said.
The elementary school district closed the Peter Burnett School in 1982 when enrollment dropped to a record low of 1,086 students; the number now is 1,650, said Supt. Don Brann.
“We are very fortunate that we have the option to reopen the school,” said Brann, who attended the Peter Burnett School when it first opened in 1956. “Lots of districts don’t have that luxury.”
Brann said the district plans to restore nine classrooms at the elementary school within the next year and open it up for fourth- and fifth-grade classes only.
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