SVUSD records slight enrollment dip to start year
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

Issue not large

enough to warrant closuresdistrict says

Although enrollment figures in Simi Valley schools are sliding, the drop in number of students is not cause for alarm, according to Lowell Schultze, associate superintendent of business services for the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Last Friday's unofficial figures showed Simi Unified has 21,098 students- 327 fewer than last year at the same time and 66 fewer than the district projected for the 2007-08 school year.

Official figures will be released Oct. 1, when the district must report its enrollment numbers to the state.

"It's not a real big drop; it's been steady," Schultze said. "Right now, we don't foresee any schools closing."

Schultze added that none of the 27 public schools are suffering substantial losses.

"They don't come in bunches of 20s or 30s; they're all across the board," he said. "We don't have any school hurting really badly. If you had a school drop 30 students in the same class, then that teacher wouldn't be needed. When there's, say, around two or three students dropping at every grade level, you don't have an elimination of any expenses."

According to district projections, a relatively substantial drop is expected to hit Simi Unified in 200809, with enrollment anticipated to fall by 553 students.

In 200910, the drop is projected to be less substantial- about 200 students- with enrollment expected to total about 20,362 students. All projected figures from 2008 to 2010 are updated annually.

Nearby Conejo Valley Unified in Thousand Oaks is also dealing with decreasing enrollment, although its situation is more dramatic. According to projected figures, elementary schools in Conejo Valley were expected to lose 985 students from 2005-06 to 2007-08, making it likely that at least one T.O. school will be forced to close.

"(Dropping enrollment) is a statewide problem," Schultze said. "Over 50 percent of the school districts in California are dropping. We'll continue to monitor it and make cuts where we can. We'll try to keep the cuts out of the classroom. Declining enrollment is one of the major concerns for financial people in the school district. We make budget revisions three times a year, and we'll take a look where we are."