OAK PARK : District OKs Library on School Campus
In a long-awaited decision, the board of the Oak Park Unified School District has voted unanimously to allow construction of a Ventura County library on the grounds of Oak Park High School.
“That’s what we were waiting for,” said Lindy Heidt, a member of the Friends of the Oak Park Library. “Now we can get on with it.”
At its Tuesday meeting, the board acceded to pressure from community members and county Supervisor Maria VanderKolk to place the library on the edge of the high school campus instead of at its center.
School administrators had said the central location would be best for students. But several community members said library customers did not want to mingle with high school students.
County officials also were adamant about the location, saying they would refuse to consider the central location, Assistant Supt. Stan Mantooth said.
Groundbreaking for the new library, which would be funded and operated jointly by the school district and the county, could take place by the end of 1994, officials said.
Although the county library system has been hit by budget cuts, the Oak Park building would be funded by development fees from the fast-growing community east of Thousand Oaks.
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