Jaren Rhodes, 8, attends second grade at Anza Elementary School in Hawthorne with a permit. Mom Susie Rhodes is worried that LAUSD in Westchester where they live will begin eliminating permits for kids to attend schools outside district boundaries. (Brad Graverson/Staff Photographer)

Thousands of children attending South Bay schools on special permits face the prospect of returning to their neighborhood campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District under a policy change quietly approved by board members.

The financially beleaguered Los Angeles district says it plans to stop offering about 80 percent of its inter-district transfers next year, a move expected to affect nearly 10,000 students, more than a third of whom attend South Bay schools.

The Board of Education approved the policy change at a meeting last month, but the action drew no public comment and generated only a brief discussion among members, who were largely enthusiastic about welcoming students back to LAUSD.

In an internal memo sent last month, Superintendent Ramon Cortines estimated the resulting enrollment boost could bring the district $51 million in new funds next year. The 618,000-student district, already reeling from funding cuts over the last two years, is facing a $640 million shortfall.

The new revenue for LAUSD will mean lost income for nearby school districts, which are likewise struggling with massive state budget cuts and declining enrollment.

On average, about two-thirds of school districts' budgets come from enrollment-based state funds, which are based on average daily attendance or ADA.