High School Closing Considered

A special committee working on long-range plans for school buildings is studying whether to close one of the four high schools in the Torrance Unified School District, according to an interim report released this week.

But school officials downplayed the possibility of a school closing, calling it only one of many options being explored by the ad hoc committee. The report does not single out a specific high school for closure.

“Let me emphatically state that as far as I can tell, that is on nobody’s agenda,” said school board President David Sargent.

The district’s high school enrollment fell from 7,673 students in September, 1986, to 6,500 last fall. Enrollment may have increased slightly this fall, said Special Services Administrator J. Richard Ducar. The state funds school districts based on student enrollment.

Officials formed the committee in April to assess population trends and how school buildings are being used in the 20,000-student district, which has six middle schools and 17 elementary schools. The committee’s final report is due in December.

“We’re looking at a variety of things,” said Gary Kuwahara, co-chairman of the 15-member group.

The interim report includes such ideas as a year-round school schedule, busing and re-opening closed elementary schools, if needed. The committee is also looking into new sources of school funding, such as an alumni association or a nonprofit fund-raising foundation.