City's proposal comes as a surprise

Last week, the Pleasant Valley School Board was set to determine the fate of three schools recommended for closure. Parents, teachers and the rest of the community crowded city hall and stood ready for the school board to cast its vote. The board's decision to close Los Altos Middle School didn't come as a big surprise.

What the community wasn't expecting, however, was a reprieve from Camarillo Mayor Jan McDonald, who asked the school board to wait on any further closures.

The mayor said the city may be able to help school officials explore additional funding sources that might save the district from closing two more campuses.

Mayor McDonald, the only City Council member to also have served on the school board, said she spoke at the school board meeting because she wanted to be sure school officials had "accurate" information from the city on the issue.

The mayor is right that it's best to measure twice and cut once, but her appeal appears to come as a surprise to many. From the response of her fellow council members, the mayor seems to have spoken independently on behalf of the city.

Although City Manager Jerry Bankston later said there's very little, if anything, the city can do to help the school district, the board agreed to meet with city officials and decided to postpone the likely closures of Camarillo Heights Elementary and Los Primeros Structured schools.

While Camarillo Heights and Los Primeros parents breathed a sigh of relief, teachers left city hall frustrated that the school board had failed to close the other two campuses. District officials have said the closures would save the district about $1.5 million a year- money that would likely be used to increase teachers' salaries.

It's inevitable that no matter how the school board votes, not everyone is going to be happy.

Why, then, does it feel as if school and city leaders are so uncertain about their decision? And why does it appear as if both groups are still scrambling to find direction?

Both the city and the school district need to sit down soon and figure out what they plan to do and fast.

The next school year is right around the corner and Camarillo's parents would like to know where they'll be dropping their children off next fall. Let's hope it won't be at City Hall Elementary School.