VENTURA : School to Restore Off-Campus Passes

Ventura High School students will again be allowed to go off campus for lunch beginning April 18, school officials said Monday.

All lunch passes were temporarily suspended Feb. 22 as an added security measure after the off-campus stabbing death of Jesse Strobel, a 17-year-old student at the school.

After the Jan. 30 slaying, which police believe was gang-related, school officials adopted a series of security measures to crack down on gang activities in and around the school.

A section of Poli Street, which divides the campus, was closed to reduce the chance of drive-by shootings. The closure increased traffic on Main Street, which prompted officials to cancel off-campus lunch passes as a precautionary measure.

But Joseph Spirito, superintendent of the Ventura Unified School District, and other school officials said traffic has not been as bad as anticipated.

Before allowing students to leave campus again, Spirito said the school will install a fence around the staff parking lot to help prevent unguarded crossings on Main Street. Students will be directed to use the intersection of Main and Catalina streets for crossing.

About 500 students are now eligible for off-campus lunch passes, officials said. To qualify for a pass, a student must be classified as either a junior or senior, have parental permission and maintain at least a C average.

Meanwhile, Spirito also announced that the Ventura school district will begin operating a new 24-hour phone line Wednesday that will take anonymous tips on the presence of weapons on campus.

The number is (800) 499-GROW, which stands for Get Rid of Weapons. But Spirito said the phone line will take information on all security and crime issues affecting students and schools.