| On November 8th, the voters of who live in the Los | | | | Angeles schools. The number of charter schools within |
| Angeles schools district will be faced with their fourth | | | | the state continues to increase, with another 20 new |
| proposition, called Measure Y. The $3.985 bond | | | | charter schools planned for this fall. |
| measure, which will be paid by property taxes, is for | | | | The California Charter Schools Association predicts |
| more planned expansion within the Los Angeles | | | | that ten percent of public school students within the |
| schools, allowing them to add another 25 elementary | | | | state will attend charter schools by the year 2014, with |
| schools to the current list of 160 schools that are | | | | perhaps an even higher percentage in the Los |
| scheduled to be constructed by year 2012. Some of | | | | Angeles schools area. They cite that the number of |
| the money also is slated for other needs, such as new | | | | charter schools would need to triple in order to |
| school buses, repairs and charter schools. | | | | accommodate all of the students currently on waiting |
| The other three bond measures were passed for Los | | | | lists. With the smaller size and flexibility of charter |
| Angeles schools new construction and repairs that | | | | schools, they can be created and implemented in a |
| were long overdue. Classrooms were literally falling | | | | very short time, as compared to the large, traditional |
| apart, and classes were excessively overcrowded | | | | Los Angeles schools that take years to construct. |
| with year-round schedules for many schools. The | | | | The second reason for the drastic drop in enrollment |
| previously passed measures underwrote the current | | | | at the Los Angeles schools is birth and lifestyle trends: |
| 160 schools on the list for construction. | | | | - Los Angeles County statistics have shown that |
| Many people, however, are asking if this fourth | | | | hundreds of fewer babies are being born in the county |
| measure is truly needed. According to the Los | | | | each year. The trend is expected to continue through |
| Angeles Daily News, the traditional Los Angeles | | | | to the end of the decade. |
| schools are slowly but steadily losing students from | | | | - Upper income singles and couples with few children |
| their rolls. Since the 2002-2003 school year, the | | | | have replaced neighborhoods that were once inhabited |
| traditional Los Angeles schools have lost 4,471 | | | | by large immigrant families. With the rising housing |
| students. According to Los Angeles schools officials, | | | | prices in the Los Angeles schools area, most young |
| they expect another 4,304 to be dropped this year. | | | | families or families with many children can no longer |
| There are several reasons for these drops in | | | | afford to live there, opting to move to areas with lower |
| enrollment. | | | | costs of living. |
| First, one in every 20 students is choosing to attend a | | | | - Additionally, according to researchers at the Public |
| charter or private school, rather than attend traditional | | | | Policy Institute of California, another trend is smaller |
| Los Angeles schools. The 88 charter schools within | | | | immigrant families. In their 2002 report, they show that |
| the state now enroll about three percent (about | | | | after the first generation, immigrant families |
| 200,000) of the public school students. About 35,000 of | | | | successively have smaller families. |
| these students attend charter schools within the Los | | | | |