Parents Take an Outside Shot at Prized School’s Openings

Close to 400 parents braved cold, gusty winds overnight on a school playground in Santa Ana to register their children at one of the most coveted campuses in the city.

Their feelings Saturday morning about the experience at Raymond A. Villa Fundamental Intermediate School depended on where they stood in line.

“I was here at 9 a.m. [Friday],” complained Erika Cedeno, 28. “You know what number I got? Two-hundred-ninety-two.”

Hilario Velazquez, 38, arrived six hours after Cedeno to register his daughter Karin at the prized school, which has openings for 260 students next year.

After district employees and police officers allowed the official line to form at 5 p.m. Friday, Velazquez ended up third.

“I thought it was fair,” he said, clutching his daughter’s registration packet. The district officials, Velazquez said, “brought order. The parents were running back and forth. We were running like horses.”

Demand for spaces in Santa Ana Unified School District’s six fundamental schools, which boast a back-to-basics curriculum, is so great that parents have camped out for days or hired people to stand in line for them during registration periods.

District officials said that was unfair and unsafe. This year they set a starting time for lining up: 5 p.m. the day before registration. They also moved the process from the campuses to district headquarters on Chestnut Avenue, except for Villa Fundamental, which is next to the district office.

By Friday afternoon, the number of parents waiting to enter the district grounds was nearly double the number of spots available at Villa. When the registration process began promptly at 5 p.m., parents rushed through the district complex. One woman fell and injured her ankle, according to witnesses, and was taken to a hospital.

Employing a system similar to that used at rock concerts, district employees and volunteers distributed sequentially marked ticket stubs, then randomly drew a number that designated the first in line.

Everyone else lined up in increasing order behind that person until the highest number was reached. Then the lowest number lined up after that and so on.

The system is designed to take away the advantage of early arrivers, but some parents felt cheated.

“It wasn’t fair,” said Rosa Guerrero, 34, waiting to register her son Rolando in Villa’s sixth grade. “I was here at 2 p.m. yesterday. We were organized. One of the parents made a list of everyone who was there and I was number 88.”

The list was for naught. After receiving her ticket and the draw, Guerrero’s standing fell to 180.

Still, she was one of the lucky ones able to secure one of the 260 spots. Many of the parents discouraged by their high draw left Friday night. Those who remained huddled under blankets and watched portable televisions, played cards or just chatted in Villa’s chain-fenced playground.

“I wore three sweaters,” a bleary-eyed Velazquez said. “And I have sweatpants under my jeans. You have to do what you can for your kids.”

Those who stayed in line but could not get a spot Saturday will be put on a waiting list.

District officials said they want a more equitable arrangement. The district is waiting for word from the state attorney general’s office on whether the first-come, first-served system is illegal because it gives parents with more time an advantage. The district is also considering a lottery system.