City May Help Pay for Gym

Thousand Oaks would contribute up to $1 million toward construction of a gymnasium at the new Sycamore Canyon School under a proposal to be considered by the City Council tonight.

The 600-student school opened Aug. 29 for kindergartners through sixth-graders. Plans call for adding at least two classroom buildings and a gym at the 14 1/2-acre campus in the next few years to accommodate seventh-and eighth-graders.

Councilman Andy Fox has recommended setting aside $1 million from a $6.35-million fund paid by the developers of the Dos Vientos housing project in Newbury Park. The Conejo Valley Unified School District would need to find $2 million more to pay for the gym.

“We’re delighted by the city’s generosity,” said Gary Mortimer, the district’s assistant superintendent of business services. “We envision a gym in the future over there, but it’s going to be largely contingent on available funding.”

Council candidate Michael Farris, a former Planning Commission chairman, said he surveyed more than 150 Newbury Park residents over the weekend about how best to spend the $1 million. The leading suggestion, he said, was to transform a former Albertsons grocery store in the neighborhood into a teen center.

Other suggestions included using the money to create recreational facilities, such as a bowling alley, BMX park or Olympic-size swimming pool.