Ventura County Forums to Focus on New Schools

Conflict between the increasing need for more Ventura County schools and the decreasing land available for them has prompted county officials to plan two public forums on the problem.

County Supt. of Schools Chuck Weis and Supervisor Steve Bennett plan to host the meetings in mid-September and late October.

“It’s real clear that our student population is growing, and it’s also clear that taking over farmland for a school is not necessarily what the general public wants,” Weis said. “We’re trying to bring people together so they can see what works and see what else might be needed.”

The lack of available land, swelling school enrollments and demands created by class-size-reduction mandates have challenged educators from Oxnard to Moorpark.

While schools are exempt from the county’s anti-sprawl Save Agricultural Resources and Open Space ordinance, it’s clear most county residents want to keep greenbelts protected, said Bennett, one of the SOAR movement’s leaders.

The most recent high-profile clash was in the Oxnard Elementary School District, which was planning its next school on 14 agricultural acres outside the city.

Plans for Juan Soria School fueled a three-year fight involving the district, county agencies and environmentalists. The plans were shelved earlier this year, despite the demand for space in a district that admits 400 new students each year.

While the issue has erupted around the Oxnard Plain, it is one that officials in other parts of the county will encounter more in 10 to 15 years, Moorpark Unified School District Supt. Frank DePasquale said.

“We want to be ahead of the curve,” he said.

The Sept. 12 forum is planned as a discussion of the problems associated with finding school sites. The Oct. 24 meeting will examine more closely the issues surrounding school construction on farmland. School and city officials, growers, developers and members of citizens’ groups are expected to attend.