Unification voting area to be contested in federal court
Camarillo group doesn't want Oxnard residents included in vote
By Michelle Knight knight@theacorn.com

A federal lawsuit was filed last week contesting the voting area that would determine whether Pleasant Valley School District can become a K-12 district.

In March, the state board of education said the election area should include voters in the proposed school district as well as the Oxnard Union High School District. The board's decision means some 77,000 registered Oxnard and Port Hueneme voters will join about 44,300 voters in Camarillo and Somis in deciding the matter.

But the school district boundaries overlap, and the exact number of voters in each area is likely to differ somewhat after the county's elections division makes its final calculations in June.

Plaintiffs named in the lawsuit filed April 22 include the political action committee Camarillo Unified and 14 individuals, including Camarillo attorney Roger Lund.

Lund said he and his fellow plaintiffs think the state board's unprecedented move of including voters outside the proposed district is unfair.

"I think we have a very good case here," Lund said.

The issue must be resolved by Aug. 8, however, to qualify for the November ballot.

Ron Speakman, Pleasant Valley trustee and longtime supporter of creating a unified school district in Camarillo, said last week he hadn't seen a copy of the complaint but is concerned about voters outside the area weighing in on the issue.

"I would prefer Camarillo voted on it because Camarillo would be responsible for the success or failure of the (new) school district," Speakman said. "That makes sense to me."

Tom Griffin, attorney for the Oxnard Union High School District, said voters in Oxnard and Port Hueneme have a substantial stake in the matter and should therefore be included in the vote.

The high school district, which serves them as well as Camarillo, faces the loss of 20 percent of its students and about 30 percent of its tax base should Pleasant Valley become a K-12 district. The high school district will also lose and must replace an alternative high school and adult school in Camarillo, he said.

"That's enough of an impact on the people left behind that they should have a chance to vote on it," Griffin said.

He added that people in Camarillo shouldn't assume Oxnard and Port Hueneme voters will automatically shoot down the creation of a unified Camarillo school district.

William Little, a former Camarillo city manager and another plaintiff in the lawsuit, disputes that.

"Why would someone want to vote to give up some of their property and tax base?" Little said. "There's no real reason for someone over there to vote for it."