Too Many Vying for Too Few Enrollment Slots

How many times does 700 go into 75?

For the National Academic Decathlon champions at El Camino Real High School in Woodland Hills, the question might seem simplistic. But for Principal Ronald Bauer, the problem is a difficult one.

Because on Friday, the last day open-enrollment applications were taken at hotly sought-after Los Angeles Unified School District campuses, Bauer was faced with nearly 700 students vying for the school’s 75 open-enrollment slots.

“We have no more space,” said Bauer, who said enrollment at his school has grown by 800 students in recent years. “More families with school-age children are moving into Woodland Hills. We’re struggling to serve our local boundaries.”

So Bauer will draw numbers Wednesday morning and then break the bad news to nine out of the 10 parents who had hoped to send their child through open enrollment to El Camino Real.

But this is an exception.

Most schools contacted Friday said they were able to accommodate the open-enrollment demand, despite a drastic decline in available seats, from 22,000 when the program began in 1994 to 7,400 for the 1998-99 school year.

At some popular schools known for academic and athletic achievement, however, space is at a premium and the odds of getting in are low.

With the deadline quickly approaching, Cheryl Lunkusky, head of the attendance office at Hale Middle School, was receiving applications so quickly on Friday that she could not process them.

The Woodland Hills school, known for high test scores, has only 143 desks available for students outside its attendance area. So far, more than 300 students have applied.

“They’re asking me, ‘If I don’t get in, what will I do?’ ” Lunkusky said. “I’m telling everyone not to count on this. When our 143 slots are filled, they are filled.”

Some parents are finding that moving within school boundaries is the only way to guarantee a space at popular schools.

In Woodland Hills, for instance, real estate agents said home sales are brisk, with houses in the Hale and El Camino Real boundaries selling in an average of seven days.

But others are crossing their fingers and hoping their child is one of the lucky ones. That’s the hope of 614 parents who applied to Granada Hills High, where only 100 students will be chosen.

“When parents came in and heard the number of applications, they seemed surprised,” Assistant Principal Joan Lewis said.

Despite the shrinking numbers, Bruce Takeguma, LAUSD assistant director for school management services, said this year’s open-enrollment season has gone more smoothly that he had expected.

Elementary schools, particularly on the Westside and in the West Valley, have few openings due to booming enrollment and new limitations on class size. But Takeguma said the demand for open enrollment--which requires parents to provide transportation to and from the selected school--has always been greatest at the secondary level.

But even some high schools report demand for open enrollment spots has remained steady as available open seats disappear.

At Marshall High in Los Feliz--the 1995 and 1987 National Academic Decathlon champions--no open-enrollment seats are available for next year. Last year the school had 200 openings and strong demand.

At John F. Kennedy High in Granada Hills, Principal Warren Mason said the school will have a lottery for the first time, with 136 applications for 100 seats. Last year, Mason said, the school had 200 open seats and easily accommodated all applicants.

Hale Middle School’s Lunkusky said lottery day will be very telling.

“If you want to really know about open enrollment,” she said, “come here to our library while we’re drawing the numbers. See for yourself how parents react.”