OXNARD : Committee to Study School Site Purchase

The board of the Rio Elementary School District decided Wednesday to form a committee that will recommend whether the district should buy a 10-acre parcel of land in Oxnard as the site of a new school.

The district must decide within 18 months whether to buy the parcel at the corner of Vineyard Avenue and Ventura Road before its option to purchase it expires, said Supt. Peter D. Rogalsky.

Board members asked district officials to send letters seeking committee volunteers to El Rio organizations, including parents groups, business owners, service groups and architecture firms. At least one board member will be among the 20 to 25 committee members.

The six-school district, which has about 2,600 students, has been growing at the rate of about 2.5% a year for the past five years, Rogalsky said. The district now has room for all its students but needs to plan for continued growth, he said.

“We don’t anticipate that we’ll need the new school next year, but we will in a few years down the road,” Rogalsky said.

After the committee makes its recommendation to the board, the district may need to find ways to fund the purchase, Rogalsky said. The district may consider a loan, a bond issue or swapping a one-acre parcel of valuable commercial land for a larger parcel, he said.