Parents Protest Transfer of Severely Disabled Preschoolers

Protesting the transfer of four special education students from Ladera Elementary School, a handful of Thousand Oaks parents have accused the Conejo Valley Unified School District of discrimination.

District officials decided to move four severely handicapped preschoolers to Horizon Hills Elementary after enrollment at Ladera surpassed school projections.

Parents were notified last week that their children would be moved to Horizon Hills, which houses preschool and adult education programs.

On Friday, parent Nina Priebe criticized the move. “It is discrimination if one is only moving handicapped students,” she said.

At a school board meeting Thursday, seven parents expressed concern over the move, saying the last-minute decision to transfer the 3- and 4-year-olds was poorly handled.

“These kids don’t adapt to change very well,” said parent Diana Duggan, who picketed in front of Ladera earlier this week.

Although Duggan’s 11-year-old child is not one of the special-education students being transferred, she was angered by the district’s sudden action.

“How can we trust the school district?” she asked. “It seems like there was no thought in this.”

But Supt. Jerry C. Gross said the decision resulted from an unexpected surge in enrollment at some east Thousand Oaks schools.

“We had an enrollment boomlet along the east border of our town,” he said. “We’re not sure (why).”

The district expected about 595 students to attend Ladera this year, but enrollment peaked at about 630, Principal Kristine White said.

To accommodate the increase, school officials opted to move the preschoolers and use their classroom for a mainstream class. Two other special-education students were moved from that room, but will remain at Ladera, White said.