VENTURA : Parents Hold Forum on Boundary Plan

About 150 parents attended a forum Tuesday at Poinsettia Elementary School to discuss ways to persuade the board of the Ventura Unified School District to change a controversial boundary proposal that would send their children to more-distant schools.

During the first half of the two-hour meeting, PTO President Cheryl Baldwin fielded dozens of questions from parents, many of whom said that district officials have not released enough information about why the plan is being considered and why Poinsettia is so heavily affected.

“Where is the data to back up statements that this will be more cost effective?” one parent asked.

Under the plan, more children in the 15,000-student district would attend neighborhood schools and remain in classes from kindergarten through 12th grade with the same group of students.

But Poinsettia parents in particular have criticized the proposal because many of their children would be sent to Loma Vista Elementary, two miles away from Poinsettia. District officials said some students must be sent to schools outside their neighborhood to balance enrollment in the district.

After the question-and-answer session, parents broke into seven strategy-planning groups to discuss plans including possible legal action, the recall of board members, the demand for more information from the district, the gathering of signatures on petitions and the organizing of larger protest groups with parents from other schools.

Baldwin urged parents to bombard district officials and school board members with questions about the proposal in telephone calls and in public comment sessions at school board meetings.