Two T.O. elementary schools slated for closure
By Joann Groff joann@theacorn.com

Two schools in the neighboring Conejo Valley Unified School District will be closed in the near future because of declining enrollment.

Meadows and University elementary schools are the schools recommended for closure.

The district's Facilities Goals Committee met in a Feb. 20 meeting to review the revised closure criteria after the board decided to exempt Ladera and Maple elementary schools to protect autistic children from the disruption of a move.

The remaining 18 schools were judged on the following revised three criteria: the number of all displaced students, not just resident students, including Englishlanguage learners, school-choice kids and children who attend special day classes (SDC); how easily adjacent schools can absorb displaced students; and the distance those students would have to travel to their new school.

After all the criteria were considered, the top eight candidates for closure were named: University, Meadows, Weathersfield, Park Oaks, Wildwood, Acacia, Glenwood and Aspen. Six of these eight schools appeared in the topeight ranking in the original process.

The committee then judged the eight schools on criteria focused on special day classes and diversity in the district.

These criteria include:

•Improvement in distribution of diverse students within the cluster of closed and receiving schools.

•The number of receiving schools necessary to accommodate the closed student population and the resulting size of the receiving schools, as well as their remaining capacity to handle future growth in their attendance boundary.

•The "reasonableness" of the proposed boundaries in terms of geography, major streets and highways, and parent/student driving/ walking distances.

•Disruption to SDC programs at the potential closed schools and the issues involved in moving those specific programs.

The committee will make their recommendation to the school board to close Meadows and University elementary schools, but will also offer the option of closing Park Oaks and Weathersfield as third and fourth recommendations.