VENTURA : School Panel Formed to Ease Overcrowding

Overcrowding at several Ventura schools has become so severe that school district officials have formed a committee to look into the problem and recommend solutions, officials said Monday.

At least nine of the city’s 24 public schools have too many students squeezed into classrooms, said Gerald Dannenberg, assistant superintendent of human resources.

The most crowded conditions are at Buena High School, Anacapa and Balboa middle schools and Sheridan Way, E.P. Foster, Serra, Saticoy, Portola and Poinsettia elementary schools, he said.

Officials attempted to weed out those students who do not live in Buena’s attendance area to deal with the space problem, Dannenberg said. But even if all 40 students identified return to their home school or move to Ventura High School, it will do little to alleviate Buena’s crowded classrooms, he said.

A committee of eight administrators, appointed by Supt. Joseph Spirito, will look into overcrowding on a districtwide basis, he said. That group will come up with both short- and long-term solutions over the next few months, Dannenberg said.

Districtwide, the school system gained 800 new students in September, 300 more than in the previous year, Dannenberg said.