Thanks to a new online registration program and aggressive community outreach efforts, a record number of students are applying for Los Angeles Unified's magnet schools, long considered the "jewels" of the sprawling district.

With two weeks remaining before the Dec. 16 deadline, nearly 17,000 students have applied for about 20,000 vacant seats in the 172 magnet programs. That compares with about 2,500 applicants through Nov. 30 of last year, with online access credited for nearly all of the surge.

Despite the overwhelming demand for these inventive schools, however, supporters fear that looming cuts in state education and school- transportation funding could threaten the magnets' future. LAUSD could lose $113 million in K-12 funding and $38.2 million designated for busing when the state budget ax falls on Dec. 15, potentially devastating some of the district's most critical programs.

"This could be the death of the magnets," said parent Jennifer King, who mobilized an outreach program last year when the district planned to eliminate the positions of the coordinators who oversee and operate the