Simi Board Moves Ahead With Plans for Magnet High School : Education: Officials have recommended closing one of four junior high sites for the performing arts facility. Some parents oppose the idea.

Seeking a home for a technology-based performing arts high school, the Simi Valley school board powered ahead Tuesday with plans to convert a junior high school campus into the new school by fall 1996.

Since the cash-strapped Simi Valley Unified School District is facing a $6-million deficit and cannot afford to built a new high school, officials have recommended closing one of the district’s four junior high campuses and turning it into a magnet school--one that would attract students to its specialized course of study.

Officials are studying Sequoia and Hillside junior high schools to determine which campus could be most easily converted. Simi’s five trustees targeted the schools as possible magnet sites at a board retreat in January.

At its meeting Tuesday night, the board discussed a timeline for identifying which school to close, but it is not scheduled to vote on the matter until June 12.

The proposal has been greeted with enthusiasm by the local arts community but has come under fire by some parents--and at least one board member--who oppose the plan.

“I have several petitions signed by I don’t know how many people who are opposed to any school closure,” said Trustee Debbie Sandland. “I’m afraid the board may not have learned its lesson from what happened at Sycamore.”

Just two weeks ago, the board voted to spare Sycamore elementary school from closure after hundreds of parents opposed the plan. School officials said the closure was needed to cut costs because of sinking enrollment.

But parents said the closure recommendation would tear apart the community. Some said the proposed closure suspiciously dovetailed with the board’s plans to open a magnet high school, and accused trustees of wanting to eliminate one school to make way for another.

Given community outrage over Sycamore and potential protest over a possible junior high closure, Sandland said that trustees need to stop and seek public input before moving ahead with any plans for a magnet school.

“I think we have to slow down and study this,” she said. “I think if the majority of the board tries to push this through . . . I think we are going to fall flat on our face. I don’t think we have any measurement of community support.”

But board members set a goal in February to open a magnet high school by fall 1996. If they intend to meet that self-imposed deadline, a junior high site must be identified by the end of this school year, officials said.

“Every single meeting between now and (June 12) is going to be pretty critical,” Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said.

Simi Valley school officials have toyed with restructuring the junior high and high schools for years. Under the proposal now being considered, Simi Valley ninth-graders would be moved to high school campuses, which now enroll grades 10-12.

Adding a third high school would ease overcrowding at the district’s two existing high schools and improve the quality of education, officials say.

“I think the school district needs to go to four-year high schools,” said Diane Collins, board president. “Over many years, there’s been an ongoing discussion about the need to have the ninth-graders on the high school campuses for educational reasons . . . That is a high priority.”

But to open a third school given the district’s current financial situation, “there’s no way you can get around closing a junior high,” she said.

And that has triggered a wave of discontent among some parents.

“With the district projection of a $6-million deficit how can you envision such a costly endeavor?” asked parent Linda Fowler.

Sycamore parent Nan Mostacciuolo, who fought to save her neighborhood elementary school last month, said she opposed a magnet school. “We cannot provide a dream school if you cannot provide a basic education. We are building a school for the elite.”