Oxnard, Camarillo Residents to Vote on Bond for Campuses

Oxnard and Camarillo residents will vote on a $135-million bond measure in November that would pay for construction of two high schools in the Oxnard Union High School District.

Trustees voted unanimously last week to place the initiative on the Nov. 2 ballot. If approved by voters, the measure would cost property owners about $12 for every $100,000 in assessed property value a year.

The high school district, which serves about 15,000 students in Oxnard and Camarillo, exceeds its capacity by about 2,300 students, said school trustee Bob Valles.

District schools already use portable classrooms to deal with crowding, but high schools must also account for increasing elementary school enrollment and district growth resulting from new housing projects, Valles said.

“Our enrollment is already over capacity and we’re anticipating more students from our feeder schools,” Valles said. “We’re looking ahead.”

If the measure passes, construction would begin immediately on a high school in Camarillo, said Randy Winton, assistant superintendent of business services. Construction on the second high school would begin five to seven years after completion of the first.

The bond measure requires 55% to pass, after a 2000 state initiative lowered the necessary approval from two-thirds. Valles said this would increase its chance of passing.

Two countywide sales tax initiatives are also slated to appear on the ballot. Voters will be asked whether they want to pay an additional 1/4 cent to acquire and preserve open space and an extra 1/2 cent for road-widening projects.