Simi Valley Task Force Urges Switch to Middle Schools

Aspecial task force has recommended that Simi Valley school officials switch next year to middle schools as a way to help students ease into high school.

The task force, made up mainly of parents and teachers, told the Simi Valley Unified School District board Tuesday that the schools would not gain anything by further delay of the long-debated change from junior high schools to middle schools.

Educators favor middle schools, with grades six through eight, to help students make the transition from a single classroom in elementary schools to rotating classes in high schools.

The task force, the third group in Simi Valley to study converting to middle schools, said the district would not save money by delaying the change.

The school board set a public hearing on the proposed conversion for Dec. 17. The board is expected to decide by January whether to make the change for the next school year.

Such a change in Simi Valley would entail moving sixth-grade students from elementary schools to middle schools and moving ninth-grade students into four-year high schools.

Most board members said they support the concept but questioned the cost of the transition and whether the move would cause crowding in the district’s two high schools.

Enrollment at Simi Valley High School would increase by nearly half, from 2,024 to 2,961, if the conversion occurs next year. Enrollment at Royal High School would increase from 1,755 to 2,513, according to the task force.

After months of study, the task force estimated that a switch to middle schools would cost the district $485,673. Although Assistant Supt. Susan C. Parks called this a reliable estimate, school board members questioned whether it included hidden costs.

For instance, the high schools might have to add lockers for the incoming ninth-grade students, which could cost up to $200,000.