OXNARD : Board Seeks to Ease Crowding at School

In an attempt to cope with crowding at McAuliffe Elementary School, the Oxnard school board has approved the hiring of extra support staff and the purchase of a storage container that will provide space for more lunch tables in the cafetorium.

The year-round school, which was built to accommodate about 1,000 students, has more than 1,200.

Principal Paul Kirk said there is no “wiggle room” in the school, making supervision of so many students a more than full-time job for teachers and staff.

“There is no place for error,” Kirk said. “I cannot change the design of the school. The request to give added support staff would improve general supervision.”

Supt. Norman R. Brekke acknowledged that the district will have to adjust school boundaries, but that will not come until next school year.

“In hindsight, perhaps we erred in not adjusting school boundaries. But the relocation of any students would have generated equal concerns from parents; 100 students attending McAuliffe will not be attending McAuliffe next year.”

An administrative intern and a four-hour clerk, and the installation of a cargo container will cost about $56,000.

Funds will come from the year-round incentive money the district has been assured it will receive from the state Board of Education, Brekke said.

In addition, the board directed staff members to work on the problem of some students having to wait 45 minutes after dismissal time for a school bus. Brekke called the wait “unreasonable.”