VENTURA : Parents Say Keep Day-Care Building

Pierpont School parents have started circulating petitions in an effort to persuade Ventura Unified School District administrators to keep a portable day-care building at the school.

Heidi Fillo said she and two other parents formed a committee this week to start the campaign to keep the day-care facility on site. Supt. Joseph Spirito agreed to remove the portable building after homeowners near the beachfront elementary school complained it was obstructing their views.

Fillo said Spirito should have consulted with the school’s parents before making any decision to move the building. About 25% of the school’s 280 students use the day-care center before and after school hours, Fillo said.

Spirito said Friday that he has appointed a committee to look into the matter and will not move the building until the committee has reached an agreement.

The committee will be composed of three parents who use the day-care and three homeowners, along with Joe Richards, the district’s assistant superintendent of business.

The committee holds its first meeting Oct. 3, Fillo said. In the meantime, she said, day-care advocates will continue collecting signatures and putting pressure on Spirito to allow the portable building to remain at Pierpont.

“I don’t care if it’s moved to another position at the school,” Fillo said. “As long as it stays.”