OXNARD : School Boundary Changes Considered

A plan to shift school boundaries in Oxnard to relieve chronic overcrowding at Channel Islands and Oxnard high schools was considered Wednesday by Oxnard Union High School District board members.

The report by district staff members recommends shifting boundaries so that more students attend Hueneme and Rio Mesa high schools.

The plan focuses on students in the fifth to eighth grades who will be high school students over the next four years, said Assistant Supt. Gary Davis.

Davis said the enrollment figures projected through the 1993-4 academic year show that Channel Islands High, with a capacity of 2,240 and an enrollment of 2,692, would have more than 3,000 students if there are no boundary changes. With the boundary changes, it would enroll 2,660, the report says.

Oxnard High, designed to hold 2,060, would hold 2,709 in 1993-4 with existing boundaries, 2,511 if the changes are put into effect.

The projections were based on 5,750 houses being built and .216 students per house, statistics derived from studies of previous years, Davis said.

Davis said the district would like to enroll about 2,250 students per high school and seek alternative methods of dealing with overcrowding.

Some board members suggested that the recommendations were premature. A public hearing on the proposal is scheduled today at a PTA meeting at Rio Mesa High.

Board members said an additional concern is that two new schools are planned for completion by the 1994-5 academic year, and some students may have to be moved twice. Under the plan, no student starting at one high school would be transferred, Davis said.