Trustees Look Over Possible School Site

Trustees from the Pleasant Valley Elementary School District toured the lush grounds of the former Camarillo State Hospital on Saturday, taking a serious first look at what could become a new site for one of the district’s schools.

For two hours, board members studied the site’s many Spanish-style buildings, set against a mountainous backdrop.

“It has tremendous possibilities,” said trustee Val Rains. “And it’s a beautiful setting, besides.”

The school board will vote Thursday on whether to continue investigating a future business relationship with California State University Channel Islands, which is to take over the shuttered hospital and begin to look for tenants to help defray costs.

Pleasant Valley board members were invited by CSU officials to see if they would like to lease school sites from Ventura County’s future four-year university.

Trustees said the district has about 7,200 students and is growing by about 200 children a year. In addition, the state requirement for smaller classes is making space at its campuses tight.

One answer could be to create a specialized magnet or open-enrollment school, where students could gain access to the university’s technology, libraries and science laboratories, said Howard Hamilton, Pleasant Valley’s associate superintendent.

Trustees generally seemed impressed with the site, but did have some questions: What grades would the school offer? What kind of curriculum would the magnet school have? Would children be bused or driven to the school? How much would it cost to refurbish the buildings?

Despite the questions, board President Jan McDonald said the district is keen on finding out more.

“We all found it interesting,” she said. “It’s an exciting proposal.”