Colleges, Moorpark Schools Hit Jackpot

Moorpark school leaders joined county community college officials Wednesday to celebrate the passage of bond measures giving both districts millions of dollars for a new school, auditoriums, parking garages and a regional training academy for police and firefighters.

“Someday my feet will touch the ground but not for a while,” said Phillip Westin, chancellor of the Ventura County Community College District. “We spent two years planning this. We made it real clear that this was not a wish list but a needs list.”

The college district-backed Measure S, a $356-million bond that passed with 66.7% of the vote, provides funds to cover building needs for the next 30 to 50 years. Ventura College, the oldest of the three colleges, will receive most of the money because its facilities are in the worst shape, Westin said.

Bond proceeds will also pay for a $24-million training academy near the Camarillo fire station for police, sheriff’s deputies and firefighters, the chancellor said.

Passage of Moorpark Unified School District’s $33-million bond measure clears the way for a new school in the overcrowded district. The current 7,800 enrollment is expected to grow by 21% over the next five years.

“We worked real hard, we walked precincts and made phone calls up to 7:30 p.m. [Tuesday] night, and it paid off because we got 69.5% of the vote,” said Supt. Frank DePasquale, noting that similar bond measures failed in 1997 and 1998. “We have at least five years’ worth of projects. And one of them is a brand new school.”

DePasquale hopes the school, to be built just north of High Street and Spring Road near a new housing tract, will alleviate overcrowding. The additional classroom space will eliminate the need for the district’s 100 portable classrooms spread over nine campuses.

The school, to cost an estimated $12 million and open in about three years, is the top priority now. DePasquale proposes that the school accommodate kindergarten through eighth-graders but a final decision won’t be made until fall. Other priorities include additional classroom space, spending $1 million for new technology and a performing arts auditorium at Peach Hill Elementary School.

Bond payments will cost the typical Moorpark homeowner about $8 a month.

Community college leaders also worked hard to win over voters. They gave presentations to civic groups and sent out mailers in a simple question-and-answer format so as not to break the law that prohibits open campaigning.

Students from Oxnard, Ventura and Moorpark colleges launched voter registration drives, and public officials, including Ventura County Sheriff Bob Brooks, a Moorpark College graduate, endorsed the initiative.

The 70 proposed building projects will be scattered among the colleges. Westin will form a committee to rank the projects.

“I didn’t want to do so before because I didn’t want to jinx it,” he said.

Improvements will include building computer labs, classrooms and parking garages and renovating gymnasiums, libraries, athletic fields and auditoriums.

Approval of the measure means Ventura County property owners will pay an additional $18.97 a year for every $100,000 of assessed value.

In Fillmore, city officials held out hope that Measure Q, an attempt to finance the maintenance of a new swimming pool, could still be approved. About 10,000 absentee ballots countywide remained uncounted.

The measure is winning 1,201 votes to 638, but needs 66.6% of the vote. It currently has 65.3%, officials said. “We need to find about 75 ‘yes’ votes,” Deputy City Manager Tom Ristau said. “We are still holding out hope.”

The measure would cost property owners up to $15 a year.