San Fernando Valley Schools Enrollment

Almost 21,000 empty classroom seats in the Los Angeles Unified School District are up for grabs in the second annual round robin for open enrollment, a program that lets parents pick their children's school. The largest number of openings are in schools in the Westside and in the west San Fernando Valley, where the school-age populations have declined in recent years. The open enrollment period, which ends June 9, allows parents to register their children in any school with openings.

With a student population expected to increase by 11,000 in the next school year, officials say the Los Angeles Unified School District's well-received open enrollment program might soon be crowded out of existence. Only 6,000 seats at 120 schools will be available this fall, 1,400 fewer than a year ago, officials said. The state-mandated program started in 1994 when some campuses were sparsely attended or closed. Close to 22,000 seats were available at 350 schools.