School Board, Council to Hold Joint Meeting

They have argued and sparred in the past, and once took their feud to court.

But on Wednesday, Moorpark’s school board and City Council hope to forge the beginnings of a less combative relationship. The two panels will hold their first joint meeting in years, discussing a slew of issues that affect them both.

Some items on the agenda represent cases where the interests of the two groups clearly merge: combating increased truck traffic on city streets near schools or sharing facilities for special events. Others--particularly paying for crossing guard service--could prove contentious.

But both sides say it’s time to start talking. “We have common interests; we serve the same people,” said school board member Gary Cabriales.

The meeting, set for 7 p.m. at City Hall, will start with a discussion of city and school district finances--appropriate, considering that many of the meeting topics revolve around money.

For example, the city wants the school district to bear more of the costs of crossing guard service. The city currently spends $47,225 to pay for eight crossing guards, but the district funds only one, according to Deputy City Manager Richard Hare.

The issue has provoked fights in other communities and led to an emotional argument between Simi Valley’s council and school board last year.

Though Moorpark city officials want help with crossing guard costs, district officials want the city to continue helping fund Moorpark Project Pride, an after-school tutoring program that has gone through substantial changes in the last year.

The school district also wants the city’s support on plans to let a developer build about 100 homes next to the proposed Casey Road Elementary School. Although the property was at the center of the most bitter fight yet between the two panels--with the city suing the school board for the right to buy the land for a park--Cabriales said the housing plan should help city efforts to redevelop downtown Moorpark.

Mayor Patrick Hunter wants Wednesday’s meeting to be the first in a series and hopes the panels, or perhaps subcommittees of each, will meet at least four times each year.