The Oxnard Elementary School District has on the ballot Measure 6, a $64 million bond to build one new school and repair only four schools. I am opposed to this measure for several reasons.

A large portion of the bond is to pay for the Juan Soria School. This school will be built near the corner of Fifth and Patterson streets, the site of 750 new, single-family residences. The developers, during Planning Commission and City Council meetings, stated that they would build the school. Now all district taxpayers are expected to pay for the school.

The school district claims it needs the school to address overcrowding. The school district does not tell the public it laid off 42 teachers due to declining enrollments.

The school district says it may — not will — use the funds to build two-story permanent classrooms at four schools. The school district said the same thing after the previous bond issue passed. It built permanent foundations for portable classrooms instead.
The school district has removed a large number of portable classrooms due to declining enrollment but states in the campaign documents that the school population is growing.

None of this bond money will be used to repair any of the junior high schools.

The school district says this bond money may allow the school district to go to a single track. With the declining enrollment, why isn’t the school district on a single track now or planning to go to a single track next year?

— Lawrence Stein, Oxnard