County Not ‘A’ Top Place to Raise Kids

Ventura County takes pride in being a good place to raise children, but no local community received an “A” in a new survey ranking the kid-friendliness of the nation’s large cities.

Based on 14 “quality-of-life” indicators, Thousand Oaks rated a B+, Simi Valley a B and Oxnard a D, according to Zero Population Growth, a Washington-based organization.

Those grades compare with a C- for Los Angeles, an A for neighboring Santa Clarita and an A- for the Orange County planned community of Irvine.

No other Ventura County city was graded because none had a population of at least 100,000 during the 1990 U.S. census.

Thousand Oaks and Simi Valley ranked 14th and 18th out of 92 suburban cities after both received an A+ for public safety. But each was graded down for smog, an above-average growth rate and a lack of commuters who use public transportation to get to work. Local officials questioned the validity of the smog statistics used.

Oxnard ranked 68th out of 92 after receiving a failing grade for education, because it had too few preschool students and too many high school dropouts. But the educational statistics were from 1990, according to the report. Oxnard’s dropout rate has sharply declined since then, local officials noted.

Each city received an overall grade and ratings in seven categories--population growth, health, education, public safety, economics, environment and transportation.

“I would expect Thousand Oaks to be rated high,” City Councilman Dennis Gillette said. He was pleased at the city’s A+ for education, which was based on an eye-popping 100% participation in preschool education and a minuscule 5.2% high school dropout rate.

But Gillette quibbled with his city’s environmental grade of D, based on the Environmental Protection Agency’s report of 94 bad-air days in 1996. Gillette noted that the EPA also reported the same number of smoggy days for Simi Valley and Oxnard.

“So I would question it,” he said. “Simi Valley has much more potential for air-quality problems than Thousand Oaks. And Oxnard is a coastal city. Today is a good example. It’s 90 degrees here, and it’s comfortable and clear.”

Simi Valley Mayor Bill Davis also said his city’s rating rang true.

“Overall, I’d say it sounds pretty good,” Davis said. “But I would disagree with them on transportation.”

Although Simi Valley received an F for public transportation, Davis noted that his city runs four bus routes across town, a shuttle to downtown businesses and a bus line to neighboring cities. It also has a stop on the Metrolink train system to Los Angeles.

“So we got an F for transportation and Thousand Oaks got a D?” he said, reviving a good-natured rivalry. “In my opinion, their system is not as nice as ours.”

In Oxnard, which received no grade higher than a C+, officials questioned the validity of the report.

“This is a very good place for a kid to grow up,” Mayor Manuel Lopez said. “I think things are much better than they were. And I think the city, the schools and the private sector are devoting a lot more time and energy to improving the schools.”

He cited an after-school program by the Boys & Girls Club, an array of programs sponsored by the Police Activities League and a teen jobs program that involves hundreds of youngsters each year.

The Zero Population Growth report did cite a kid-friendly effort worth noting in each community.

In Thousand Oaks, it mentioned the Teen Center for its help of troubled youths and its Girls Book Club. Simi Valley’s Teens At Risk Program was applauded for its training in self-esteem and conflict resolution. And Oxnard’s City Corps places teens in community-service posts.

In individual categories, Ventura County cities ranked this way:

Population growth between 1990 and 1996: Oxnard, C, 5.9%; Simi Valley, C, 6.7%; and Thousand Oaks, C-, 8.6%.

Health, using 1996 statistics: Simi Valley, A, with 5.9% teen births, 4.1 deaths per 1,000 births infant-mortality rate, and 5.0% of babies with low birth weights; Thousand Oaks, B+, with 4.1% teen births, 6.2 infant-mortality rate, and 5.7% low birth weights; and Oxnard, C+, with 14.5% teen births, 5.9 infant-mortality rate, and 5.3% low birth weights.

Education, using 1990 figures: Thousand Oaks, A+, with 100% preschool attendance and 5.2% high school dropouts; Simi Valley, B, with 74% preschool attendance and 9.2% dropouts; and Oxnard, F, with 40% preschool attendance and 20.5% dropouts.

Public safety: Thousand Oaks, A+; Simi Valley, A+; and Oxnard, C.

Economics: Simi Valley, A-, with 6.2% unemployment, 3.4% children in poverty, and 76.4% home ownership; Thousand Oaks, B+, with 5.9% unemployment, 4.3% children in poverty, and 73.7% home ownership; Oxnard, D, with 10.1% unemployment, 16.6% children in poverty, and 53.7% home ownership.

Environment: All three cities got a grade of D, based on an EPA report that apparently gave the entire county the same rating of 94 bad air days in 1996.

Transportation: Oxnard, C+, with 1.1% of commuters using public transportation and a 21-minute average drive time to work; Thousand Oaks, D, with 0.3% use of public transport and a 27-minute drive time; Simi Valley, F, with 0.5% use of public transport and a 32-minute commute.

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Kid-Friendly Cities

A report released Tuesday by Zero Population Growth rated American cities for 14 “quality of life” indicators such as economics, education, environment and health. Major cities were ranked separately from suburbs.

RANKING OF MAJOR CITIES

RANKING OF SOUTHLAND SUBURBS

*Source: Zero Population Growth