New Private School Fielding Inquiries

Interest in a new private high school is running high, according to the school’s officials.

Oaks Christian High School, located on La Tienda Drive in Westlake Village, is under construction and is not scheduled to open until fall 2000. But school officials say they have already received more than 600 phone calls from parents of prospective students, most of whom are interested in getting more information about the school.

The school’s officials say the facility will ultimately cost $20 million to build and is designed to accommodate a coed student body from grades nine through 12. Officials also say the school will have a student-teacher ratio of 20 to 1.

Don Krebs, 44, a stepfather of two from Newbury Park, said his family was excited when they learned the Conejo Valley was getting its first coed private school.

“Obviously, the quality of private schools has traditionally been better” than public schools, Krebs said. “I think it’s a lot better education.”

But Krebs says he chose not to enroll his children at Oaks Christian when he learned the annual tuition will cost an estimated $10,000 to $12,000.