However, shifts in student population within the district have affected some schools, said Anthony Escobar, director of resource development and community relations. Like other districts in California, Visalia Unified in the past decade turned to a multitrack, year-round system to deal with growth. Today, nine campuses are on these schedules. Tentative plans include a new elementary school in the northwest. Some people contend that many families are driven by a need to abandon areas perceived as deteriorating or crime-ridden.
Schools also can be part of that combination.
The dream of home ownership, however, is creating major headaches for districts such as Madera Unified in Madera County. Enrollment climbed from 13,720 in 1990 to 17,275 in 2000. During that time, the district failed to win support for bond issues, crippling attempts to cope with crowding. We've had two school bonds fail and, with growth like ours, it's meant a housing crunch. Bee staff writers Valerie Avalos-Lavimodiere and Matt Leedy contributed to this report.