OXNARD : $1.1 Million Restored for Schools’ Use

A bill signed into law Tuesday by Gov. George Deukmejian will give the Oxnard Elementary School District about $1.1 million for year-round education, an amount that had been cut from the state budget.

Assistant Supt. Ardyce Driskill said the restored funds will be used to replace money taken from the district’s reserves to keep the year-round program afloat after Deukmejian vetoed $462 million in school financing from the state budget. The district’s reserves had dwindled to about $616,000, she said.

The state gives money to school districts that provide year-round education. Deukmejian had vetoed $41 million from that program, leaving only $8 million statewide for year-round programs.

The bill, sponsored by Assemblyman Jack O’Connell (D-Carpinteria) provides $27 million statewide for school districts that have adopted year-round schedules to ease overcrowding. Oxnard Elementary is the only district in Ventura County that has converted to a year-round calendar.

The bill also provides grants of $100,000 to schools that want to study year-round classes as a solution to crowded schools, O’Connell said.