OXNARD : Board OKs Cap on School’s Enrollment

Crowded Channel Islands High School in Oxnard will have no more than 2,650 students next school year under a plan approved Wednesday by trustees of the Oxnard Union High School District.

The board voted 4 to 0 to pass the measure in an effort to curb the school’s steadily rising population. Board member Nancy Koch was absent.

The number of students reached 2,541 this year. Without the plan, district officials estimated that more than 2,800 students would enroll next September.

Built in 1965 for 2,200 students, Channel Islands High is more than 300 students over capacity. Eleven portable classrooms have been added.

School officials attribute the increase to new development in the area near south Oxnard.

In addition to placing a cap on the number of students, the plan prohibits transfers to Channel Islands High from other district schools after April 1. Students who already attend the school under such transfers will be allowed to stay upon request.

Students who move into the Channel Islands High area after June 1 will be bused to Hueneme High School, about 3 1/2 miles away. The district will provide bus service between Channel Islands and Hueneme high schools for students who live at least three miles from Hueneme.

The plan also gives parents of Channel Islands High students the option of transferring their children to Camarillo, Hueneme or Rio Mesa high schools.