By Jason Islas
Lookout Staff

March 20, 2012 -- After a month of discussions, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District voted last week to end a moratorium on new inter-district permits and raise the cap of new non-resident students who can attend local schools from 200 to 300.

The new policy will allow as many as 50 new out-of-city kindergarten students. For grades nine through 11, no more than 20 students will be allowed, per grade, to attend Santa Monica High School.

There also will be an increase of as many as 10 new permit students in each grade from six to eight.

“We understand that the policies we've approved in the past have decreased our student population,” said Board Member Oscar de la Torre. “We feel that we can increase [that population] and still keep class sizes to a reasonable level.”

Keeping class sizes down is important, he said, in order to “maintain our programs and services that our students and (their) families expect.”

Back in February, the School Board was presented with a report that projected a decrease in local students. In the next ten years, high school enrollment is expected to drop by almost 500 students, according to DecisionInsite, a consultant to the district.

“We recognize that difficulties lie ahead in terms of state budget cuts to our schools,” said de la Torre.

In the face of possible budget cuts, increasing the student population could prove a financial boon for the district.

He advocated increasing available permits, saying that the district should aim to increase student enrollment from the current 11,249 to 11,500 students.