School-City Libraries to Be Studied

Members of Ventura’s board of education and City Council agreed Monday to form a committee to look into the possibility of creating a unified city-schools library system that would offer longer hours and greater resources than are currently available.

The ad-hoc committee, which will probably include two members from the Ventura Unified School District board and three council members, will meet regularly throughout the summer to hash out issues surrounding the proposal, officials said.

Officials did not name the committee members at the Monday night meeting because it was not on the agenda. But they agreed informally to take the issue back to their respective boards and appoint members later.

Both bodies will also adopt resolutions stating their intent to work together on issues of common concern, said Ventura school board President Jim Wells. Additionally, the group decided Monday to form a second ad-hoc committee to look into after-school activities for Ventura’s youth.

“We want the community to know that we are very serious about this,” Wells said.

The rare joint meeting of the two elected bodies was called to discuss issues of mutual concern, said Ventura Mayor Tom Buford. For years, the only communication between the city’s elected leaders and school board members came through their staffs or over an occasional cup of coffee, Buford said.

The two ad-hoc committees will report back to the full committee later this year, possibly in September, the group decided. If the city and the schools pooled their resources and staffs to make city and school libraries available to the public, residents would benefit by having libraries open longer hours, Wells said.

But there is much to be worked out, such as who will pay for staffing at the libraries and when they would be available to the public. Wells stressed that Monday’s meeting was just a beginning.

“We didn’t expect any great miracle tonight,” he said. “We just wanted to begin a discussion.”