OXNARD : Plan to Cut Number of Commuters OKd

The board of the Oxnard Union High School District approved a plan Wednesday to comply with a county law designed to reduce the number of commuters on the road and improve air quality.

The district is offering incentives--ranging from coffee mugs to guaranteed rides home in an emergency to some of the best parking spaces--to encourage teachers, custodians, administrators, secretaries and other school employees to car pool or find alternative means of getting to work.

Employees who walk or ride bicycles to work would have access to showers and to bicycle storage racks, Personnel Director William Studt said.

However, the district cannot offer monetary awards because it would be a gift of public funds, Supt. Ian Kirkpatrick said.

The board voted 4 to 0 to implement the plan at the five regular high schools and the district’s administrative office to comply with Rule 210, a county law that requires businesses and public agencies to reduce the number of employees who commute to work alone. Board member Janet Lindgren was absent.

The district must reduce the average number of riders per car to 1.5 by 1997. A coordinator has been designated at each site to implement the plan, and each site will be given $500 to put a plan in place.

After complaining that schools operate differently from businesses, officials from districts countywide have worked with county officials to come up with ways for schools to comply with the rule. For example, teachers do not have the flexibility to alter their schedules that other employees have.