Planning Begins for a High School for the Arts and Technology : Simi Valley: The proposal angers parents who feel it is linked to a cost-cutting measure to close an elementary campus.

After approving a cost-cutting proposal to shut down an elementary school, the Simi Valley school board launched plans for a new technology and performing arts high school, agreeing to hire an administrator to coordinate its opening by fall, 1996.

The decision came late Tuesday night after three hours of public debate over a proposed school closure and a plan to open a four-year specialized high school that would draw students from across the district.

The board took the first step toward that goal Tuesday, voting 3 to 2 to hire an administrator to direct planning for the high school. Board members Carla Kurachi and Debbie Sandland dissented.

The administrator will be hired next month and work for just one year, officials said. The individual will be paid between $50,000 and $70,000--a salary that is roughly a third of the $190,000 annual savings the board expects from closing an elementary school in central Simi Valley.

*

One of three elementary schools--Mountain View, Simi or Sycamore--will be shut down because of sinking enrollment, officials said.

Although trustees denied that the school-closing plan was linked to their desire to open a new high school, parents and a few teachers at Tuesday’s meeting drew the link and responded angrily.

“I urge you to find the money to create a magnet school in some other way,” parent Gail Johnson said.

“I think you would be committing political suicide,” Simi Valley resident Mike Little told the board. “Hell hath no fury like that of a scorned parent.”

In a biting speech that drew loud applause by dozens of parents, Sequoia Junior High School teacher Ken Butts sharply criticized the proposal and called board members irresponsible.

“Your plan begins by closing a neighborhood school. Why? Because it is a plan without money,” Butts said. “It’s as if you spent the weekend learning a TV mantra: ‘Just do it.’ ”

Creating a school that would emphasize music, drama and fine arts as well as technology has been a goal of the school board for years. Although the plan is still in its infancy, officials have suggested closing a junior high school and using that campus for the new high school.

But many parents at Tuesday’s meeting urged board members to halt plans for the specialized high school, saying the district cannot afford to open it.

“If we have the money, go for it,” said Susan Pfeiffer, whose children attend Sycamore Elementary. “But the truth is, we don’t.”

The Simi Valley Unified School District is facing a $3-million deficit. Officials said late Tuesday night that additional cuts must be made to balance this year’s budget, which may include laying off teachers or closing other schools.

*

But trustees insisted that all they were doing at this point was approving a list of goals--objectives they would like to see met in the near future, not plans that will go into effect overnight.

“We have to look at the educational opportunities,” Trustee Kurachi said. Although hiring an administrator to direct planning for the new school was on a list of goals approved by the board Tuesday, trustees argued about how much that administrator should be paid.

“I am not comfortable paying more than $65,000 for this position,” Kurachi said. “I am quite worried about hiring an administrator at their salary.”

The new position would probably be filled by a principal or assistant principal already working for the school district, Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said.

Those positions typically pay between $50,000 and $70,000 plus benefits, school officials said.

“I would like to see us look at a consultant so we don’t have to pay benefits,” Kurachi suggested.

But Trustee Norm Walker said the board should hire from within the district’s ranks. “I have a sense that we have bright, energetic people who want to do the job,” he said.

The new administrator will be responsible for coordinating plans to open the new high school that would include choosing a campus for the school and developing a curriculum in the areas of technology and performing arts.