Spirito Proposes New Uses for Washington School

The school district’s top administrator said he will ask trustees tonight to consider using the boarded-up Washington School for educational programs or administrative offices, a move embraced by neighbors of the historic midtown campus who feared it might be razed.

Supt. Joseph Spirito said Monday he is recommending that the Ventura Unified School District study possible uses for the 1920s-era elementary school, which has fallen into disrepair since closing in 1983 because of declining enrollment.

In the meantime, Spirito said he will ask board members to authorize development of a plan by year’s end to spruce up the school, making it safer and more secure.

“We want to make sure we are good neighbors, and we want to come up with a plan to help us accomplish that,” Spirito said. “At least we can assure them now that we are not putting this site up for grabs.”

Neighboring residents have long rallied around the shuttered Washington School, embarking on a campaign more than a year ago to preserve the 72-year-old institution.

That campaign was prompted by a district-commissioned report last year that recommended selling the MacMillan Avenue school to pay for more classroom space to serve the city’s growing student population.

Hoping to spare the building from the wrecking ball, residents lobbied district officials to reopen it as a school or turn it into a community center.

They said Monday they were pleased with Spirito’s recommendation.

“What he is suggesting to do is great, absolutely wonderful,” said Craig Burkhart, a member of the Ventura Midtown Community Council. “And we as an organization want to work with the district to find a use for that site.”

One use that has been ruled out for the midtown campus is to reopen it as a school, Spirito said.

A report issued in February concluded that the school would be costly to reopen because of renovations needed to bring it up to state codes. And Spirito said further study proved that there are not enough students in the surrounding neighborhood to justify reopening the five-acre campus.

“It just wouldn’t make any sense financially,” Spirito said. “I’d be spending money foolishly.”

Since the district closed Washington School, vandals and the elements have left the school with broken windows, peeling paint and a trashed interior.

Of top priority, Spirito said, is developing a plan to shore up the facility, making it less of an eyesore and safer for people in the area.

That comes as welcome news to local residents.

“We feel we have been moving in a very positive direction over the past several months,” Burkhart said. “And I am very thankful they are offering such an expedient resolution to the issues of degradation of that property.”

School board members are expected to consider Spirito’s recommendation tonight at their regular meeting. The meeting starts at 7:30 at Ventura City Hall, 501 Poli St.