Officials Worry Over Delay on School Site

School district administrators at a news conference Monday expressed concern that the Planning Commission’s decision not to consider county land annexation could delay the opening of an elementary school for a year.

The commission’s decision last week could prevent Juan Lagunas Soria Elementary School from opening as scheduled in August 2001. The campus is proposed for the site at Emerson and Rice avenues.

“This is yet another delay in our uphill battle to house the huge and increasing number of students at our schoolhouse doors,” said Richard Duarte, superintendent of the 15,700-student Oxnard Elementary School District. “If we do not break ground for the new school by February, we will have to take sweeping, extreme and drastic emergency measures.”

During its meeting last Thursday, the commission postponed the planned annexation of the county land for Soria school--in accordance with its own rules not to take up new business after 10:30 p.m.

With 20 speakers scheduled to address the issue there was no way to hear them all in the time remaining in the meeting, said Planning Commissioner Morey Navarro, so the panel postponed the item two weeks. He said the matter will be the first item discussed at the Nov. 18 meeting.

But school district administrators are frustrated by the delay.

“This was normal procedure for them,” Duarte said. “The Planning Commission was being conscientious. We felt that this would be routine and there would not be a problem. As far as they are concerned, they needed to review the plan and zone permits for the site, including traffic and other considerations. For us, it is a crisis.”