Schools Shrink in Los Feliz

The Los Feliz Ledger has an interesting article in the September issue on the shrinking size of elementary enrollment in area schools. (The website still has up the August edition, so you’ll have to find a hard copy or wait a few days). But the gist of the article is that enrollment has plummeted since about 2000, when local schools were literally bursting at the seams and having to go to year-round schedules. The article points out that in the 2000-2001 school year, Los Feliz Elementary had 950 students. This year, it is expecting 475!

The article speculates that rising rents in the area are driving many people out. That also sounds like owners in the area are then choosing to send their kids elsewhere, although it doesn’t go into that.

On the surface, smaller schools sound great. But as any parent can tell you, shrinking classes also mean shrinking budgets. Unfortunately, fewer students doesn’t mean a lower student-to-teacher ratio, but instead, fewer teachers and possibly even bigger class sizes.

What does this have to do with real estate? If you’ve got kids, or think you might, a lot. Many of the local schools (with exceptions like Ivanhoe and Franklin Ave. Elementary) struggle to get by, and provide high-level education. The LAUSD is alreay in dire financial straits and most schools are operating on shoestring budgets—less state money based on fewer students is bound to hurt. So families may end up going the private school route—which can add $1,000 or more to your monthly bottom line. The question then becomes whether it’s wiser to put that money towards a house in a good-school neighborhood (which is why those houses in the Ivanhoe district are so desirable), tolerate a so-so education, or go private. Tough choices.

Want to know more about the school district of the houses you are looking at? Check out this great post by Christina.