CONEJO VALLEY : Driver Training to Return, for a Price

Conejo Valley school officials voted Thursday night to reinstate driver training instruction with the students footing the cost.

The new fee of $120 per student would make up for $95,563 that the district expects to lose this year due to state budget cuts. If efforts to restore the funding are successful, Conejo Valley Unified School District officials said they will refund a proportionate amount of the fee.

“It’s the only way we can continue the program, because we don’t have the money,” said Dorothy Beaubien, Board of Education president.

Last year, 900 to 1,000 high school students enrolled in the seven-day course, which is offered an an elective after school, Assistant Supt. Richard Simpson said. Students, who are eligible to take the class at age 15 1/2, do not receive credit toward graduation.

Private companies charge $140 to $200 for driver training classes, Simpson said. The $120 fee proposed by the district would cover teacher salaries, gasoline and car maintenance and depreciation. The class, which will be open to the public, is expected to attract 800 high school students and would be run through the adult education program.

The driver training programs at several other Ventura County high schools, including those in Simi Valley and Oxnard, have been put on hold until it is decided if the funding will be restored.

Simpson said the auto-safety class, which teaches students the rules of the road in the classroom, will continue to be offered at the high schools.

School officials will also consider using state funds to reduce the size of 10th-grade English classes. The district estimates that it would cost $266,800 to hire about six teachers to reduce the class size from 36 to 20 students. State funding would total $130,000 to $325,000, depending on how many districts participate in the program.