OXNARD : Council Won’t Fight Planned School Site

The Oxnard City Council decided Tuesday that it will not protest the relocation of Oxnard High School to a site at the northwest end of the city.

The council had considered recommending that the school be moved to a northeast site for financial reasons. But council members, assured by the Oxnard High School District officials that the relocation site should not be changed, backed away from the recommendation.

The council’s staff had drafted a letter stating that the northeast site, south of Gonzales Road between Oxnard Boulevard and Rose Avenue, would be preferable because the district is already in the process of acquiring that land for a future high school campus. The district has already committed $9 million to purchase the property, but its plans for the new campus were stalled when voters rejected a school bond measure in April.

Acting Supt. William Studt told the council Tuesday that it is not possible to relocate Oxnard High School to the northeast site because it would put funding for the project in jeopardy. He also said architectural plans for the new Oxnard High School at the northwest site, near Gonzales Road and Victoria Avenue, have already been finalized.

The district wants to relocate Oxnard High because state officials have determined that its present location is unsafe because of its proximity to Oxnard Airport. Meanwhile, the school board on Tuesday voted to apply to the State Allocation Board for priority status in funding a seventh high school campus. To receive high priority status, the district must agree to provide 50% of the funds for the project.