CROWDED SCHOOLS LIMIT CHOICES FOR PARENTS.

Byline: David R. Baker Daily News Staff Writer

At a nighttime open house last week, Mary Olivere and her son, Bret, anxiously surveyed Chatsworth High, the school they hope he will soon attend.

There's no guarantee Bret will get in. He lives in Woodland Hills, far outside the school's neighborhood, and must apply through the district's open enrollment program. Only 180 seats at Chatsworth remain open.

A lot could ride on his ability to get a spot. Bret has attention deficit-hyperactive disorder, and Chatsworth's counseling program is one of the few that Mary, a registered nurse, likes.

``Yes, it worries me,'' she said. ``I only have one child. He's only got four years to go. If we don't get in here, where do we go?''

If more than 180 people apply to the school during the next month, 13-year-old Bret will have to enter a lottery for admission.

In a sense, the Oliveres are lucky. With the open enrollment period set to begin Monday, many Los Angeles public schools are full, unable to offer a single seat to children outside their neighborhoods or those not attending on other special programs.

It's a problem that only promises to get worse.

The number of spots available citywide has plunged from 22,000 five years ago to 6,000 this year as a booming population and class-size reduction efforts eat up space. School district officials want to build 51 new campuses to ease the crunch, but those plans are mired in disputes.

As a result, unless the district switches more schools to a year-round schedule or buys more portable classrooms, open enrollment may soon be closed.

``Hypothetically, yeah, it's drying up,'' said Bruce Takeguma, assistant director of school management services at the Los Angeles Unified School District. ``It's going to reach zero in the not-too-distant future.''

Starts Monday

Competition for the remaining seats begins Monday. Parents wanting to send their children to a particular school outside their neighborhood must pick up simple, one-page applications at that campus and return them by May 28.

If the school has more applicants than spaces, a lottery will be held on June 2 to pick students. If there are more spaces than applications, kids may continue to enroll until Sept. 17 on a first-come, first-served basis.

For parents, the program offers the promise of picking a good school without scraping up the money for private school tuition.

Olivere and her son had already visited Chatsworth High before Thursday's orientation session for incoming students and parents, and both liked what they saw. In addition to good counselors, the school offers solid academics and a music program for the budding saxophone player.

``We walked around the classrooms, and the kids all seemed really interested in what they were doing,'' she said. ``I really liked that.''

Since its creation by state law five years ago, open enrollment at public schools has proven immensely popular. Across Los Angeles, 22,000 students attend a school outside their neighborhood through the program.

Competition for openings at good schools can be stiff. Parents last year flooded award-winning El Camino Real High School with more than 700 applications for 75 open spots. This year, the school has none.

Even at schools with available seats, the numbers can be deceiving. Granada Hills High School has 75 openings this year, but Principal Mary Kathleen Rattay expects most of those to go to students who have used open enrollment to get into nearby middle schools. As they enter ninth grade, those kids will likely apply to Granada Hills to stay close to their friends.

``When kids start in middle school and form their friendships, you don't want to send them to separate schools,'' she said.

Friends separated

But as Los Angeles' student population swells, keeping friends together is getting harder to do.

Citywide enrollment topped 697,140 students last fall, an increase of 15,638 from the year before. By the time the 1999-2000 school year begins in September, 10,843 more students are expected.

``This just isn't going to go away,'' Takeguma said. ``It's happening all over the district.''

At the same time, open enrollment has collided head-on with another popular program - California's drive to shrink the size of individual classes.

In kindergarten through third grade, students now sit 20 to a class, compared with about 35 four years ago. The district also cut class sizes in ninth grade English this school year and may do the same with math next fall.

The result: a shortage of classrooms.

``Relief isn't going to come in the short term,'' said Bob Niccum, the school district's real estate director.

Nearly a year ago, the school board approved a plan calling for construction of 51 new schools in the next 10 years. But progress has been slow, with neighborhood opposition slowing down the selection of some school sites. The district has only purchased 15 of the properties it wants for new schools, Niccum said.

The process could be further slowed by a proposal from state Sen. Tom Hayden, D-Los Angeles, to take away the district's authority to build new schools and create another agency for the job. His idea has alarmed some school board members, who say merely simplifying state requirements for school construction would help far more.

For parents, the glacial pace of building schools will mean fewer and fewer choices, unless the district changes school schedules to squeeze more students onto each campus.

``We're in the position of having to turn more schools in the Valley into year-round schools, which most parents do not want,'' said school board member Valerie Fields.

By eliminating choices, the district could drive some parents to seek private schools.

Jana Lara wants to send her 4-year-old son, Derek, to either Garden Grove or Germaine Street elementary schools. Although her corner of Winnetka has its own neighborhood school, she said the area has had several robberies - enough to make her nervous about keeping Derek in the area while she's at work.

A single mother, Lara can't afford private tuition on her own. But if she can't get Derek into either of those public schools, she may ask her parents to help send him to one of the private Pinecrest schools.

Garden Grove Elementary is already full. Germaine has 20 openings.

Lara said she was amazed at how difficult it is to get into a good public school. ``It's like I'm prepping him for college,'' she said.

OPEN ENROLLMENT

Schools with classroom seats available for 1999-2000 open enrollment. Schools not listed have no openings.

SCHOOL CITY SEATS

Andasol Elem.Northridge 20

Apperson Elem. Sunland 30

Birmingham HS. Van Nuys 250

Blythe Elem. Reseda 15

Brainard Elem. Lake View Terrace 25

Burton Elem. Panorama City 50

Calabash Elem. Woodland Hills 12

Calvert Elem. Woodland Hills 7

Canoga Park HS. Canoga Park 100

Capistrano Elem. Canoga Park 25

Chandler Elem. Van Nuys 15

Chatsworth HS. Chatsworth 180

Cleveland HS. Reseda 217

Coldwater Cyn. Elem. North Hollywood 20

Columbus MS. Canoga Park 28

Danube Elem. Granada Hills 10

Dearborn Elem. Northridge 30

Dyer Elem. Sylmar 20

El Oro Way Elem. Granada Hills 35

Frost MS. Granada Hills 132

Gault Elem. Van Nuys 10

Germain Elem. Chatsworth 20

Granada Hills Elem. Granada Hills 75

Grant HS. Van Nuys 100

Hamlin Elem. Canoga Park 10

Harding Elem. Sylmar 50

Haynes Elem. West Hills 15

HenrJy MS. Granada Hills 40

Holmes MS. Northridge 80

Justice Elem. Canoga Park 60

Lawrence MS. Chatsworth 30

Lemay Elem. Van Nuys 40

Lockhurst Elem. Woodland Hills 35

Mayall Elem. North Hills 25

Millikan MS. Sherman Oaks 200

Monroe HS. North Hills 50

Morningside Elem. San Fernando 10

Mount Gleason MS. Sunland 25

Mountain View Elem. Tujunga 50

Mulholland MS. Van Nuys 50

Nestle Elem. Tarzana 50

Newcastle Elem. Reseda 20

Nobel MS. Northridge 30

Northridge MS. Northridge 38

Osceola Elem. Sylmar 5

Parkman MS. Woodland Hills 250

Parthenia Elem. North Hills 30

Pinewood Elem. Tujunga 10

Plainview Elem. Tujunga 40

Porter MS. Granada Hills 150

Portola MS. Tarzana 125

Reseda HS. Reseda75

San Fernando HS. San Fernando 200

Saticoy Elem. North Hollywood 10

Sherman Oaks Elem. Sherman Oaks 40

Stagg Elem. Van Nuys 20

Stonehurst Elem. Sun Valley 19

Sunland Elem. Sunland 35

Sutter MS. Canoga Park 80

Sylmar Elem. Sylmar 20

Sylmar HS. Sylmar 20

Taft HS. Woodland Hills 300

Tarzana Elem. Tarzana 20

Tulsa Elem. Granada Hills 10

Van Nuys

Primary Center (A) Van Nuys 20

Verdugo Hills HS. Tujunga 100

SOURCE: Los Angeles Unified School District

OPEN ENROLLMENT: Number of open enrollment seats available districtwide

'94-95 : 22,000

'95-96 : 21,000

'96-97 : 19,400

'97-98 : 12,000

'98-99 : 7,400

'99-2000 : 6,000

SOURCE: Los Angeles Unified School District

CAPTION(S):

Photo, Box, Chart

PHOTO Bret Olivere and his mother hope he can attend Chatsworth High.

Evan Yee/Daily News

BOX: OPEN ENROLLMENT (see text)

CHART: OPEN ENROLLMENT: Number of open enrollment seats available districtwide (see text)

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