Clinton Gets a Tardy for Internet Visit

As students across Los Angeles returned to school Tuesday, President Clinton failed to show up for his scheduled class at Reseda High School.

The president was scheduled to address a computer class--and more than 80 other classrooms nationwide--about the need to modernize schools and plug into the Internet.

But the plan to meet Reseda High over the information superhighway met an old-fashioned snag: timing.

Clinton’s tiny image arrived on two computer screens in the classroom 10 minutes after the bell rang.

Students were off to their next class. Even one of the dignitaries present for the occasion--school board member Julie Korenstein--was heading for her car.

“I’m outta here,” Korenstein said as she left.

When he finally did appear, Clinton talked about the need to refurbish aging schools and build new campuses to accommodate a record enrollment nationwide of 52.7 million students this year, the highest ever.

He said that about 14 million students attend schools that need extensive repair or replacement of one or more buildings.

Reseda and campuses throughout the Los Angeles Unified School District are beset by the very woes Clinton outlined in his speech.

From Chatsworth to Carson, work crews have been seeking to repair and restore aging facilities.

They have painted buildings, resurfaced cracked blacktop, installed air conditioning and dug trenches for electrical wiring--all paid for by a $2.4-billion bond measure.

Reseda High is no exception. On Tuesday, students walked by fenced trenches for electrical conduits that will eventually power air conditioning in classrooms at the 43-year-old campus.

In the computer classroom where students missed Clinton, the 25 computers are at least six years old--prehistoric by the standards of current technology. The machines run on 16 megahertz of power, compared to the minimum 200 megahertz for current models. Only four computers are linked to the Internet.

Administrators said the computers are fine for learning basic skills such as word processing and spreadsheets. But the inadequate equipment caught the attention of the class visitors, including Rep. Brad Sherman (D-Sherman Oaks).

“These machines are vintage 1992,” Sherman told the students. “You should be working with more advanced equipment.”

The impact of the presidential appearance seemed lost on many of the 32 students, who sat in rows of desks on one side of the room as the adults huddled around computers on the opposite side, waiting for the postage stamp-sized picture of Clinton to appear as part of National School Modernization Day.

One boy yawned as an official from the U.S. Department of Education in the room spoke about the students being the “best hope for the future of our country.” A girl dabbed mascara on her lashes.

Computer teacher Bruce Gurnick said he didn’t expect the students to be focused on the first day of school, particularly when they had not been prepped for the event or given an introduction to the material.

“If this doesn’t interest you, keep the noise level to a whisper,” Gurnick told his students.

Sherman did his best stand-in act as students and adults waited for Clinton. He told a joke. He told the students about efforts by Congress to modernize schools and about the constituent services available to them through his office.

Gurnick and Reseda Principal Robert Kladifko talked about their school being at the top of the list of L.A. Unified campuses to receive wiring for the Internet, cable television and other high-tech additions.

Still no Clinton.

But the day was not lost.

As the students filed out of the classroom, Sherman handed each of them one of the trademark combs he passes out to voters, featuring his name and phone number.

“These are cool,” said sophomore Travis Fausey. “Unbreakable.”