Ventura County School Districts Struggle to Catch Up on Repair Work

Two years after the Northridge earthquake shook Southern California, educators throughout Ventura County are still working to make schools safe, repairing cracks and replacing hanging lighting.

And as they prepare spending plans for the fiscal year that begins July 1, the districts that can afford it are also assigning top priority to maintenance that has been long deferred, including replacing roofs, paint and air conditioners. Wiring for computers gets top billing as well.

Some districts are lucky: Thanks to local funding, they have major construction projects underway. But for those districts that are making do with only state funding, the outlook is bleak for even routine maintenance.

And even those districts using local funding for big projects face problems maintaining their aging campuses.

The major projects planned or underway are impressive. Conejo Valley Unified in Thousand Oaks plans to build two theaters and six classrooms. Simi Valley Unified plans to break ground on two new gymnasiums and finish a high school stadium.

Oxnard’s elementary district plans a new school named for its former superintendent, and Ventura Unified is on schedule to open its $1-million adult-education building this summer.

In Camarillo’s Pleasant Valley district, where four local bond measures have failed in the last five years--some by a margin of less than 1%--there is no money for badly needed maintenance or new schools, said Associate Superintendent Howard Hamilton.

“Houses at age 30 start to fall apart and you have much more abuse with schools,” Hamilton said. “We have schools that are 50 years old, and they are long overdue” for renovations.

The 7,000-student population is expected to grow to 10,000 by 2009, Hamilton said. But the Pleasant Valley district used what it had saved in developer fees to build Las Colinas School on the edge of the Santa Rosa Valley. It is using current developer fees to pay back loans needed to build Tierra Linda, also in the city’s east end.

The failed bonds in 1991 and 1995 have left administrators discouraged about trying again.

“But frankly, that’s the only way we can get the money,” he said.

There is, however, a hope of funding from the statewide bond passed last week to patch up some damage done by years of deferred maintenance at six of the district’s 13 schools, Hamilton said.

“We won’t be building a gymnasium or expanding libraries to make them into computer centers,” Hamilton said. “It will be plumbing and electrical, some painting, lowering ceilings to make them more energy-efficient. We’ve let things slide for so long that we’re in a catch-up mode.”

In the Conejo Valley Unified, administrators are not counting on money from Proposition 203.

The district had been in line to receive up to $12 million from a bond measure that failed three years ago. Since then, however, the state has changed the priorities for awarding bond money and now gives priority to districts with year-round educational programs or those planning to match state funds with local funds.

Conejo district administrators say they may use some developer fees to match Federal Emergency Management Agency money to replace the district’s hanging lighting. The district is searching for other means to make classrooms safe against earthquakes and keep the schools’ appearance up to the community’s standards.

“We want the campuses to look attractive,” said Jerry C. Gross, superintendent of the 18,000-student Conejo Unified School District. “But our main concern is primarily for safety down the road. Our problem is that we have about $20 million in deferred maintenance needs.”

The district also has placed a high priority on wiring schools for computers, using one-time state funding.

“Our [long-term] goal is to have five computers in every classroom,” Gross said. A portion of that wiring work will begin next school year, he said.

The district is also using developer fees to pay for Newbury Park High’s performing arts center. The city of Thousand Oaks is paying for the Thousand Oaks High School theater, fulfilling its obligation to pass along funds earned from redevelopment districts.

The theaters, which will cost $2 million each and will host drama, music and lecture programs, were in the original building plans when the schools were built in the 1960s.

“This is just the culmination of a 30-year-old dream,” said Sean Corrigan, director of planning and facilities for the Conejo district.

In Simi Valley, a successful bond measure passed by voters in 1989 has provided the 18,800-student district with $35 million to renovate schools. Simi plans to spend $2 million on earthquake repairs, including patching cracks and applying new paint, and an additional $6 million on maintenance, reroofing and replacing old heating and air-conditioning systems.

The coming year will see the completion of a $3-million football stadium at Royal High School, also funded with the local bond measure. The district plans to seek bids on new $2-million gymnasiums for two Simi Valley junior high schools as well.

Simi also plans to open its magnet high school this year and rewire that campus to accommodate new computers that are central to the school’s technology emphasis. Discussions are underway on how the district might build a new elementary school for residents of Wood Ranch as well.

“All of our growth has been in the west end of the city,” Supt. Mary Beth Wolford said. The district is considering a boundary study next year to relieve crowding in existing schools.

Oxnard Elementary School District, with 13,600 students, finished wiring its schools for computers last week. In addition, the district plans to retrofit hanging lighting in the coming years.

The district, which grew by 600 students this year and projects the same growth next year, has been drawing on a local $40-million bond measure approved by Oxnard voters in 1988, Supt. Bernard J. Korenstein said.

The district opened a new junior high school last year and will open the Norman R. Brekke Elementary School this fall. But that will not alleviate overcrowding or eliminate the need for year-round schools, and it will use up all of the bond money, Korenstein said.

“Our greatest need is still for facilities,” he said.

Ventura Unified plans to open a new building for its adult education program this fall. It also plans to have all its schools wired for computers by the end of May.

Administrators hope to receive up to $500,000 from Proposition 203 funds to plan for modernizing the district’s aging schools, said Joseph Richards, assistant superintendent of business services.

“It’s pretty bad,” he said. “We have over $90 million worth of work that needs to be done to modernize our schools.”