OJAI : Study Delayed on School Transfer Plan

A study of a proposal shifting two Ventura schools to the Ojai Unified School District has been postponed until county planning commissioners can review a new plan for the Ojai and Ventura River valleys.

The study is supported by residents of Casitas Springs, Oak View and Mira Monte.

The residents contend that educators in the Ventura Unified School District have neglected students at Arnaz and Oak View elementary schools.

Children who attend those schools, which are part of the Ventura district, have more in common with residents of the Ojai and Ventura River valleys than with the city of Ventura, said Lanie Springer, an Oak View resident.

But at a meeting before the county Planning Commission on Thursday, Ventura school officials said the commission does not have authority to authorize such a study. Any move to transfer schools from one district to another must come from the district itself, said Jorge Gutierrez, Ventura Unified’s facilities manager.

County planners agreed with Ventura Unified and recommended that the request for the study be denied.

But the Planning Commission delayed a decision until March 30, when it will meet again.

The request for the study came from a committee created to help the county update zoning and planning guidelines for the Ojai and Ventura River valleys. That plan, called the Ojai Valley Area Plan, will also be reviewed at the March 30 meeting, officials said.

Ventura Unified stands to lose at least 500 students and $2 million in state aid if the schools are removed from its control.