Countywide : $5 Million OKd for School Headquarters

The Ventura County school board decided Wednesday to spend $5 million to purchase a Camarillo building for a new superintendent’s headquarters and to outfit it with a state-of-the-art computer system.

The three-member board of the Ventura County superintendent of schools office, whose majority said it was acting in the interest of taxpayers, voted 2 to 1 to spend $1.8 million to purchase the two-story office building in the 5100 block of Verdugo Way. The board will spend $2.8 million on the computer system, with the remaining $400,000 going to pay interest on the bonds.

Board member Wendy Larner cast the dissenting vote, saying she was concerned about the debt that the superintendent’s office will have to incur to buy the site.

The board agreed to sell $5 million in so-called certificates of participation to finance the purchase of the building and to pay for a new computer system. The certificates are similar to bonds but do not require voter approval because they are not financed by an increase in property taxes.

Although many school districts have had to cut personnel and programs to balance their budgets this year, Assistant Supt. Robert Smith said, the county superintendent’s office is in good financial shape with more than $3 million in reserves.

Moreover, Smith said, because of the depressed real estate market, now is an opportune time to purchase a new office site. “This is a long-term decision,” Smith said. “We’re trying to look to the future. This is something that will eventually save the taxpayers money.”

The superintendent’s office now pays about $100,000 a year to lease space in downtown Ventura that has no parking facilities and is badly in need of renovation, Smith said.

Smith said his staff will meet with the owner of the Camarillo building, Bank of America, on Friday to finalize its purchase agreement.