School district enrollment continues slide
High schools see drop of 162 students in one year
By Eliav Appelbaum eliav@theacorn.com

Enrollment in Simi Valley Unified School District has declined for the fifth consecutive year.

As of Monday, 20,885 students were attending school in the district—257 fewer than at this time last year. The drop will result in the loss of about $1.4 million in state funding, which is based each fiscal year on student enrollment.

Lowell Schultze, associate superintendent of business and services, expected the numbers to remain about the same when the district reported its official figures to the state Wednesday.

Although the trend is disheartening, he said, the numbers don't point to any doomsday scenarios—at least not yet.

"We're not looking at closing any schools," Schultze said.

In fact, school district staff is already predicting smaller decreases in the next few years.

In 200910, the district is expected to have 1 percent, or about 200, fewer students and, if SVUSD estimates are correct, a smaller percentage dip for the following four years.

"There are some promising signs. Some districts in Ventura County are seeing increases in their elementary enrollment. We haven't seen it here yet," Schultze said. "I don't know what the housing market is going to do, whether homes will be more affordable for younger families."

In neighboring Conejo Valley Unified, total enrollment is down nearly 500 this year, from 21,960 to 21,477.

In Simi Valley, the biggest decline this year has come at district high schools. There are 162 fewer high school students in Simi this year than in 2007-08. The number of students in elementary school has dropped by 44 and in middle school by 19.

According to Schultze, Simi Unified saw a steady rise in student population from 19992000 (20,628 students) to 200304 (21,794).

The district had its largest student population in the 197475 school year, when there were 24,378 students.

"Declining enrollment is a problem everywhere," Schultze said. "Over 50 percent of districts in California are seeing a decline in enrollment. We hope that trend is going to change."

According to the associate superintendent, decreasing student numbers in the 1980s resulted in the closure of four schools in Simi Valley.