School closure puts students in harm's way

If the Camarillo Heights Elementary School is closed, nearly 400 children will need to cross Las Posas Road to attend three different schools. Las Posas is one of the busiest streets in Camarillo, especially in the morning when a large number of commuters are in a rush to get to work.

Closing Camarillo Heights is a scenario for disaster.

Many children will walk to their new schools. If only one child is hit by a vehicle while crossing Las Posas Road, the cost for emergency room, hospital, emotional pain and suffering for both child and family will be staggering.

With a large number of children crossing Las Posas on a daily basis, it is only a matter of time before one of our children will unfortunately be hit.

Camarillo Heights covers a very large area of Camarillo. If you were a project planner, you would want an elementary school in the middle of this area. Camarillo Heights is this school and has been for 50 years.

While past school boards may have neglected the needs of this school, such decisions should not penalize the school today and can be rectified in the long term.

The Pleasant Valley School Board faces a difficult decision. My recommendation is to close only two schools: Los Altos and Los Primeros, as Los Primeros has been proposed to move its program intact to another school.

Following this approach, the school board is able to save and redirect money, but more importantly, will continue to ensure that the safety of our children is the school board's top priority. John Dempsey Camarillo