OXNARD : School to Be Closed for Renovations

The Oxnard Elementary School District voted to close the Haydock Intermediate School for four years so the 40-year-old campus can be renovated.

Board members agreed Wednesday night that the 1993-94 school year presented a “window of opportunity” in which to close the school because the district has space to transfer its students to the soon-to-open Frank Intermediate School.

While reconstruction of the school might take only two years, board member James Suter said it was crucial that the board set a guaranteed date for the campus to reopen.

“There are people out there who believe firmly that the school will never reopen,” Suter told the board. “We need to show them our intentions are not to close it indefinitely.”

“We’re not going to pour $1.5 million into a project and then not reopen it,” board member Jack Fowler said.

After voting on the temporary closure, the board agreed to have a committee draw boundaries to determine which children would go to Frank and which to Fremont Intermediate School.

It also selected Haydock’s principal, Pete Nichols, to be the first principal of Frank Intermediate School. Nichols will be responsible for staffing the new campus.