School Board Backs Closure of Street

Gearing up for the November election, the Ventura Unified School District board has taken a stand against a ballot measure aimed at reopening the section of Poli Street at Ventura High School.

The board voted unanimously this week for a resolution opposing Measure E.

At the same time, however, trustees agreed to continue negotiating with the hillside residents who vehemently oppose the street’s closure and who pushed to get Measure E on the ballot.

The board also decided to investigate the cost of building an overpass on Poli Street with a walkway underneath so that Ventura High students can cross from one side of campus to the other. Measure E backers have proposed the overpass as an alternative to keeping the street closed.

Measure E, which will go before Ventura voters Nov. 8, calls for reversing the City Council’s decision last year to close the section of Poli Street that cuts through the high school campus.

Police barricades keep motorists off the street between Catalina Drive and Hall Canyon Road from 7:30 a.m. to about 3:45 p.m. on school days. The council closed Poli Street in response to school safety concerns that arose after the murder of Ventura High student Jesse Strobel early last year.

Although Strobel was killed off campus after school hours, school and city officials said that closing the street would increase student safety by keeping outsiders off campus. School officials now say the closure has made the campus safer and quieter.

But hillside residents have fought the move, arguing that the closure has increased traffic on residential streets and endangered their lives by making it more difficult for emergency vehicles to reach their homes.