Parents Complain About New School Boundaries

Dozens of parents accused the Conejo Valley Unified School District on Thursday of turning their children away from the district’s newest elementary school despite long-standing promises.

At issue during a board meeting attended by about 100 residents was a proposal to determine which children will attend Lang Ranch Elementary School, scheduled to open in the fall.

The proposed attendance area would include such housing developments as Brock, Meadowood, Summit, Eagle Ridge and Knoll / Westlake Canyon. Also included is Woodridge, which won’t be built for at least five years.

While proposed attendance boundaries for the new school make room for children from Woodridge, they exclude others in existing neighborhoods nearby, many said.

“We’ve been here 11 years paying property taxes,” Kathy Bernstein said. “But these Woodridge homes are not even built yet and are getting priority.”

District facilities manager Sean Corrigan said he drew the lines to make a “strong, logical connection” among the areas included.

But residents of areas such as Parkview Drive--where three homes are in the proposed school area and the rest are not--say they were promised more than a decade ago that they all would be included.

“If you don’t include all our homes, it breaks up the community feel,” said Jeffrey Klein of Parkview Drive.

Dina Schwalbach accused the district of being swayed by the $4.2 million in fees paid by the Woodridge developers.

Schwalbach, who lives on Brookfield Drive, said Woodridge children would be bused past her home to Lang Ranch under the district’s proposal, while her own children would have to attend more distant Ladera Elementary School.

After listening to more than an hour of complaints, trustees directed Corrigan to look for a way to redraw the boundaries to include all of Parkview Drive--a move that did not satisfy residents of other affected neighborhoods.

“Let’s take another look at the proposed boundaries,” trustee Richard Newman said. But “remember, not everyone who wants to go can go.”

Trustees will vote on the boundary lines Dec. 10.