VENTURA : Schools OK Waiver to Recoup Funding

The Ventura school board has approved an emergency waiver that will allow the school district to recoup $200,000 in state funding lost because of flooding and water contamination triggered by last month’s rains.

Six schools were closed Jan. 10 when torrential rains flooded streets and made roads on the west site of Ventura impassable. Three days later, 12 schools closed when city officials said much of the city’s water supply was contaminated.

State funding to public schools is based on average daily attendance, so districts lose money whenever schools close.

But the Ventura Unified School District is eligible to recover all the money lost because Gov. Pete Wilson declared Ventura County a disaster area, Assistant Supt. Joseph Richards said.