By 1980, student enrollment had topped three hundred annually, but reductions in federal military benefits thereafter reduced enrollment.

Dr. Reynolds said that her program would not reduce enrollment, but instead would spur high schools to beef up their courses and better prepare students for college.

Across the Island, people ask why school taxes soared even as the end of the baby boom reduced enrollment.

In 1955, 9th graders transferred to junior high school, reducing enrollment from 1,500 to 1,250.

The 321,900-student California State University system has cut 5,000 class sections since last year, reduced enrollment by 7,000 and raised student fees 40 percent.

Many parents of children at the school are single parents, and the lack of aid has reduced enrollment.

Dean Robert Klonoff, a former class action defense attorney whose salary tops $270,000, has pledged to reduce enrollment because the number of law school graduates far exceeds demand.

"I'm not looking to reduce enrollment, I'm looking to increase it."

The school was originally more than double its current enrollment of approximately 300 students in the 1960s and 1970s, but higher admissions standards steadily reduced enrollment over the decades.

Should the Academy fail to reduce enrollment to 640 students and cut staff from 60 to 45 by July 1, 2008, penalties could reach a maximum of $250,000.