School Crowding

I am a teacher at Van Nuys High School, and I couldn’t help but notice that a current theme in television, newspaper, radio and board reports seems to be that there is a great need for more classroom space, and that campuses are overcrowded. It also seems apparent that there is no readily available land on which to build these needed schools.

Recently, I heard that the Los Angeles Unified School District is now looking for “alternatives”--that they want to buy or rent large buildings for academies that will accommodate a couple of thousand students.

This is not the solution.

The answer to the problem is easy to see: Get rid of the bungalows and build multistory permanent buildings on existing campuses. There are no negatives, only positives to this move:

* No environmental impact survey needed.

* No extra money needed to purchase land.

* There would be more and larger classrooms to accommodate the 40-student norm.

* There would be no teacher traveling.

* There would be more storage, more bathrooms and more lockers.

* Buildings would be easier to secure.

* The distances students travel would be cut down, enabling minutes to be returned to the instructional day.

* There would be more parking for both teachers and students.

* Departments could stay together.

* There would be no need for year-round schools.

LAWRENCE C. SCHARF

Winnetka