Though the hallways may feel more crowded, overall the student enrollment for the 2008-09 school year has reached a record low.

In just the last year, enrollment dropped from 2,170 to the current enrollment of 2,050 students. Over the past decade, enrollments has dropped by nearly 1,000 students.

This decline has also been an ongoing trend in the Glendale Unified School District (GUSD), which has lost around 4,000 students since the 2002-03 school year. The continuing regression has cost the district millions of dollars.

In addition, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s declaration of a “fiscal emergency” on Jan. 10 has reduced Proposition 98 funding for kindergarten through grade 12 education and community colleges by $507 million.

To accommodate this fiscal loss, changes have been made in class size and staffing. Since the 2002-03 school year, the math department has lost six teachers, with many having also had to take on extra classes.

“The district may be reluctant to hire new teachers because of decreasing student enrollment; instead, class sizes are bigger,” math teacher Staci Thompson said.

Principal Kevin Welsh noted that because of declining enrollment, five full-time teaching positions were eliminated by squeezing and condensing the Master Schedule and releasing temporary contracts.”

Welsh believes that a factor for the declining enrollment may be attributed to the high housing costs of the community. According to Bestplace.net, a demographic research and analysis software website, the median cost of homes with a 90201-91203 zipcode ranges from $588,500 - $1,189,00.