OXNARD : Chavez School Plans Civil Rights Center

A committee is trying to raise money to expand the library at Cesar E. Chavez School in Oxnard and create a civil rights learning center there so children will know the history of the struggle.

“We want to teach children how to obtain civil liberties through a non-violent way,” Principal Anthony Zubia said.

The school’s library has not been updated since 1992, when the school expanded from kindergarten through third grade to include students up to the sixth grade, Zubia said.

The 20-person committee of residents, parents and school officials was appointed by the Oxnard School District last year to oversee the changing of the school’s name from the Juanita School. The committee was also charged with creating a center where students could learn about Chavez, Martin Luther King and Mahatma Gandhi, among others.

The committee will hold a $50-a-person fund-raiser on July 16 at the Oxnard Hilton Inn. The event, from 1 to 10 p.m. will include lunch, music and dancing.

The committee hopes to raise $10,000 at the event, which would be matched by the school district, Zubia said.

Other schools in the Oxnard School District also are struggling to maintain their libraries and have held fund-raisers in recent years, said district Administrator Richard Duarte.

Because of budget cuts in educational programs statewide, local school officials have been unable to expand libraries or even keep them current, he said.

For more information about the Chavez fund-raiser, call the district at 483-2389.