OXNARD : Change in Disabled Education Possible

In a move that could save $235,000 annually, the Oxnard Union High School District is considering severing its contract with the county to provide educational services for 100 of its disabled students and putting the students in regular schools.

Robert Brown, the district’s business manager, said the school board will decide in January whether to cut all or part of its contract with the Ventura County superintendent of schools office. If a change is approved, Brown said, the students would begin attending district campuses next fall.

He said the district is trying to determine if it can accommodate all or just some of the students, who suffer from various mental and physical disabilities. He said the district may have to hire special-education teachers to work with some students.

District students with severe disabilities are now enrolled in county schools. The county operates three schools for disabled children, including one in Oxnard and two in Camarillo.

Brown said his district has long considered changing or dropping its contract with the county. The cost of sending all of the students to county schools has risen dramatically in recent years, he said.

In addition to the $235,000 that would be saved by moving the students, Brown said, the district would be eligible to receive up to $1 million from the state in special-education funding. The additional funding, which now goes to the county, would depend on how many disabled students are enrolled in district schools.

Ventura County Supt. James Cowan said it is uncertain how the change would impact the county’s programs for the disabled.

He said it is possible that some employees could be laid off if Oxnard students are moved.

However, Cowan said it is also possible that some county teachers who are trained to work with disabled students will go to work for the Oxnard school district.

“It’s hard to know how we’re going to be affected” until the district makes a decision, he said.