VENTURA : School Boundaries to Be Discussed

The Ventura Unified School District board will discuss proposed school boundary changes in retreats with administrators over the next two weeks before scheduling a vote on the issue, the school board president said Tuesday.

After an hourlong presentation from members of a parent committee, board President Terence Kilbride said the board may schedule another discussion session at a regular meeting before voting on the boundaries.

“I presume this will be a hot topic in our retreats,” Kilbride said.

The board must decide between two boundary proposals for the city’s two public high schools, as well as vote on new elementary and middle school boundaries.

Under one high school boundary plan proposed by administrators, students living above Foothill Road who attend Buena High School would transfer to Ventura High, and students in the Montalvo neighborhood would transfer from Buena. Students in eastern Ventura who attend Ventura would be allowed to go to nearby Buena instead.

However, a plan devised by some parents on the committee would allow Montalvo area students to continue to attend Buena, while students from some other areas of the city would transfer from Buena to Ventura. In a vote earlier this month, parents approved the district’s high school boundary plan over the parents’ plan by a 23-22 vote. However, parents decided to forward both recommendations to the board.

The parents overwhelmingly approved plans for changing elementary and middle school boundaries. They suggested implementing the changes in September, 1993.