Prank Brings Walkout by Van Nuys High Pupils

More than 150 Van Nuys High School students burst out the front doors of the school’s main building shortly after 9 a.m. Wednesday to stage a protest that some teachers say probably was initiated as a prank.

Students on Tuesday received an unsigned flyer in their lockers urging them to skip two morning classes as a show of support for teachers embroiled in a contract dispute with the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education. And to the dismay of school officials, many students went along.

“I just went out to see what was going on,” said junior Inga Berteym, who skipped second period. “It looked like a lot of kids walked out just to get out of class.”

A campus representative of United Teachers-Los Angeles, the union representing most of the district’s teachers, said the flyer was probably a student prank.

“I don’t see that it was done by anyone in UTLA,” said Leah Orlin, a special education teacher and UTLA representative at Van Nuys High. “I used the flyer as a lesson in propaganda and manipulation.”

Strike Vote Taken

The 22,000-member UTLA voted Wednesday on whether to strike beginning May 30. Results of the strike vote are expected to be made public Monday. Teachers are asking for a 21% raise over two years, while the district has offered a 20% raise over three years.

UTLA spokesman Don Schrack said the union continues to discourage student walkouts, which were staged at several Los Angeles high schools and junior highs earlier this year.

Van Nuys junior Shant Ashikian said students began gathering in the hallway near the front doors of the school shortly before 9 a.m. Wednesday. When told by school officials to return to class, the students burst out the front doors and milled in front of the school, he said.

Some students, such as Ashikian, admitted that they used the opportunity to try to play hooky. Ashikian said he and several others were caught by school police while trying to leave the campus and were returned to school after their parents were notified. “I was trying to run away, but a cop stopped me and they took me in for truancy,” he said.

Campus officials said they do not know who distributed the flyers. Most of the students returned to class for third period, officials said.