Survey to Help Determine Cost of Magnet School : Financing: The queries are designed to gauge the level of interest in the technology and performing arts academy.

The chief organizer of a proposed magnet school in Simi Valley said the results of an upcoming district survey will allow school officials to determine the cost of creating the technology and performing arts academy out of an existing junior high.

Judy Cannings, team leader of the magnet school project, said Tuesday night that the Simi Valley Unified School District will complete distribution of surveys to more than 7,000 parents this week. The surveys are designed to gauge the level of interest in the new magnet school.

“We want to tell them that this is your school. Help us build the school,” said Cannings, adding that the results should indicate how many and what type of students are interested in the school. Only after analyzing the potential student body can officials estimate the cost of converting Sequoia Junior High School, she said.

But some parents demand to know the cost for the school immediately.

“Where is the money for the magnet school going to come from?” asked parent Suzi Bird, who has a ninth-grader at Sequoia. “And how much is it going to cost?”

District officials said this week that the transition to four-year high schools will cost from $71,000 to $200,000, but those figures do not include the cost of buying equipment for a proposed performing arts and technology magnet school.

Supporters have said the district could cover the costs through per-pupil allotments from the state and donations and sponsorships from local businesses. But board members acknowledge that drumming up such support might take some time.

“This will not be a state-of-the-art magnet school for ninth- through 12th-graders next year,” board member Judy Barry said. “We all know that.”

In June, the board voted to close Sequoia, open the magnet school and make the transition to four-year high schools by fall 1996. Opposition to the move has waxed and waned among parents and teachers.

District officials hope the results of the informational survey will quell the opposition.

But board member Debbie Sandland, the lone board opponent of the plan, said she finds fault not only with the plan to create four-year high schools and the magnet school, but also with the surveys and letters being disseminated by the district.

In a letter to parents, district officials said the magnet school is a “fully accredited public four-year high school.” But Sandland said the district has not applied for accreditation. She also worries that existing programs will suffer if the district pays $200,000 or more to create three four-year high schools.

“I’m glad the numbers are finally coming in,” Sandland said. “I just hope somebody is going to take responsibility for the cuts that are needed to make this work.”

Board member Barry writes off such criticism as a fear of change:

“When you’re working with a group of people so determined not to make it work, and you’re trying to make it work, it makes your job twice as hard.”