OLD SCHOOL ENROLLMENT BOOM IS BUST GROWTH DOWN AS KIDS AGE, PROGRESS INTO HIGH SCHOOL.

Byline: Sue Doyle Staff Writer

SANTA CLARITA - Enrollment in local schools has grown slightly from last year but is still a dramatic departure from the past when local districts saw student populations spike.

Enrollment today hovers at about 1 percent more than last year among most elementary school districts. Highest growth was reported in the William S. Hart Union High School District with about 4 percent more students.

Still, because of new schools built to accommodate overcrowding problems of the past, many district are now saying that there's enough room on campus to handle this year's enrollment figures.

``We have more capacity and more seats for students than we have students,'' said Marc Winger, Newhall School District superintendent.

Newhall School District recently built three new schools to adjust to the burst of students who arrived at its doorstep about 10 years ago. Enrollment then annually grew between 3 percent and 5 percent, forcing the district to go on a multitrack scheduling system for five years because there wasn't enough room for students.

But with about 6,947 students attending class in the district this year - a 1 percent increase from last year - Winger expects growth to slow down even more over time. He attributes the change to fewer new homes being built and more children aging into secondary schools.

Enrollment figures were even smaller at Castaic Union School District, where about 20 new students were added to classrooms.

With about 3,615 total students, the district was not surprised by the small increase. That's because a large eighth-grade class graduated last year and the district has a big kindergarten this fall. So figures somewhat balance out.

In the end, it means long-term growth, said Jim Gibson, assistant superintendent.

At Saugus Union School District, the highest growth at its 15 kindergarten through sixth-grade schools was seen this year at its newest - Tesoro Del Valle School. The Bernardo Way facility also sits among streets of new homes. Neighborhood students went to other schools during its construction.

At the same time, there's a slight decrease in enrollment in the district's central area, because students there are growing up and heading to high school, said Judy Fish, superintendent of Saugus Union School District.

Fish said the district today has about 10,760 students - an increase of about 200 from last year.

About 926 new students are walking the hallways this year at schools in the Hart district. District officials consider the increase as standard for growth, but it's still a change from the past when as many as 1,500 new students arrived year after year.

Recent openings of West Ranch and Golden Valley high schools have alleviated much of that student population crunch.

At Valencia High School, for example, the population decreased by about 300 students, because they now attend the new schools, said Pat Willett, spokeswoman for the Hart district.

The district now anticipates 1,000 new students each year and uses enrollment figures from local elementary schools as a measuring stick to predict their own growth.

From what they're seeing, there's more to come.

``There was a large baby boom some years ago and it's making its way through the schools,'' Willett said.

Sue Doyle,[phone]

sue.doyle(at)dailynews.com