Supervisors OK Tax for New Library and Center
Oak View residents received final approval from the Ventura County Board of Supervisors to create a tax to buy and convert a shuttered neighborhood school into a library and community center.
In doing so, the community will prevent the school site from being used for tract housing.
The supervisors gave the plan unanimous support this week, paving the way for about 3,500 homeowners in this enclave near Ojai to pay the tax, beginning in November.
Homeowners closest to the old Oak View Elementary School will pay an annual $49 assessment; others will pay $24.50. The county will contribute $460,000.
The funds will cover the Ventura Unified School District’s $1.2-million price tag for the 4.6-acre school site, which was closed two years ago. Activists are seeking private donations to renovate the school’s interior.
Though Oak View already has a small library, the new library, to open in 2004, would be about twice as large and would offer expanded hours.
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