It began earlier this year when Chaffey Joint Union High School District opted to convert its Dominga High School campus in Ontario into Canyon View, a continuation high school. 

That left the West End Special Education Local Planning Area, which had used the site for about nine years for one of its special education programs, looking for another location. 

SELPA quickly found a perfect site: the Italo M. Bernt School in the Cucamonga School District. 

But Italo Bernt already was home to the San Bernardino County alternative education program for middle and high school students. 

It all worked out in the end. 

SELPA's students moved to Bernt. The county alternative education program simply expanded its satellite site on Mountain Avenue and Fourth Street in Ontario to make room for the extra students in alternative educaiton. 

SELPA had a year-to-year lease with the Chaffey Joint Union High School District for the old Dominga High site. Then the district decided to use the land for its continuation high school. SELPA officials turned to Italo M. Bernt School in Ontario to house its severely physically disabled and emotionally disturbed education programs. 

The Italo M. Bernt School in Ontario was originally built for special education students. 

"It had many of the facilities that would make for a good program," said Jeanne Davis, West End SELPA administrator. 

But SELPA officials wanted to make sure that the alternative education program had a place to go to. SELPA officials had to move all of their things from the Dominga High site into storage three weeks ago. On Aug. 24, officials became moving into Bernt. 

"We're up to boxes right now," said principal Doris Lee, laughing. "But we're getting settled." 

There will be five classes at Bernt, said Lee, who transferred to the West End SELPA in July. Growth is anticipated, she added. The program might add a new class soon. Each class has 10-15 students. which range in age from 12 to 22. 

Classes begin again Sept. 8. 

Besides special education schools, West End SELPA also helps coordinate special education programs at 10 districts in the west end of San Bernardino County as well as San Bernardino County Schools. 

Meanwhile, workers have spent the summer making room for two more classrooms to bring the total to five at the county alternative education site on Fourth Street and Mountain Avenue, said Principal Sherman Garnett. 

Workers also installed a new computer lab at the site, which has been used by the program for five years. It had used the Bernt School location for three years. 

Garnett oversees about 250 students at six different alternative education locations around the Inland Valley, in Rancho Cucamonga, Chino and Chino Hills. Classes begin again Tuesday . 

Students in the alternative education program typically have been expelled from a comprehensive school, are on probation or have a severe attendance problem. The students tend to succeed at the alternative education school in part because of the smaller class sizes and individualized attention they receive, Garnett said. 

Each semester, Garnett sends at least 30 percent of his students back to their regular schools, he said.