School District Leases Out Space At 2 Closed Campuses

CAMARILLO, CA — The Pleasant Valley school board voted last week to lease shuttered campus space to two educational programs.

The school board’s Aug. 16 action tentatively approved a one-year $72,000 lease to the Ventura County Office of Education’s Triton Academy.

The special education program will use 10 classrooms, the gymnasium, library and office space at the former Los Altos Middle School campus. “We’re very excited,” said John Gahan, executive director of special education.

“We hope over time we’ll be able to expand the program.”

Trustees also gave preliminary approval to lease two classrooms and a fenced outdoor area at Los Primeros Structured School to Gan Camarillo Preschool for about $1,670 a month.

State law requires school districts to give priority consideration to certain groups when leasing property. Among them are special education programs and preschools.

“It’s a difficult thing to close a school,” Rabbi Aryeh Lang said. “At least we know it’ll be used for little kids the way it was before.”

Pleasant Valley closed Los Altos and Los Primeros in June after pointing to years of declining student enrollment in the kindergartenthrough-eighth-grade district and the need to use funds more efficiently.

“Young children will get a good education,” the director of the Chabad Jewish Center of Camarillo told the board.

The center-run preschool, which will accept children ages 2 to 5 of all faiths, can now increase the number of spaces from 16 to about 30, Lang said.

The school is expected to open Sept. 4.

Pleasant Valley trustees recently hired Sage Realty Group to advise them on the best use of the shuttered campuses and recommend leasing terms.

The two-year contract for the Los Primeros campus, considered a prime downtown location, could be extended for a third year.

Sage President Joel Kirschenstein told the board city officials are also interested in leasing the downtown campus.

But “no one has an idea what to lease i t for,” Kirschenstein said.

“It’s just in a nice location,” he said.

Kirschenstein advised the board to arrange only shortterm leases so that classroom space would be available to house extra students should the district’s push to add high school students prove successful.

The state board of education is expected to make a decision on the matter of unification in November.

The Pleasant Valley school board is expected to give final approval of both contracts at a future meeting.