LVUSD, Agoura Hills to form new committee

By Stephanie Bertholdo Acorn Staff Writer

Pat Schulz, a member of the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education who was recently reelected for a second term, attended an Agoura Hills City Council meeting before the election to request that a new city/schools sub-committee be formed between the two agencies.

Schulz also thanked council members for their past financial support that helped offset state budget cuts.

She noted that the extra funds helped protect core academic programs and explained that LVUSD board members want a smaller committee to improve communication with the city council.

The council has had an education subcommittee for eight years, according to Mayor Jeff Reinhardt, but he agreed that a smaller committee might be beneficial to both entities.

The current education committee may be too large, according to Schulz and Reinhardt. Members include council members from Agoura Hills and Westlake Village, staff members from each city, as well as personnel from Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station and its "J-team," which focuses on juvenile crime.

"We had more far-ranging kinds of conversations with our present education committee," Reinhardt said.

Topics would range from beautification to teen issues, but not necessarily focus on schools, he said. A smaller committee, Reinhardt said, would be more efficient.

The new Yerba Buena Elementary School was a catalyst for the new committee. "With the construction of Yerba Buena, we want to keep everyone in the loop," Schulz said.

"We would like to have a direct line of communication with the city council rather than a rumor line that happens all too often," Schulz said in a subsequent interview.

"Our goal is to have a separate city/school committee to formalize an informal process," Schulz said. She added that she and other board members would like the new committee to meet quarterly and work on issues of common interest to both the city and school district.

Council members Denis Weber and Dan Kuperberg currently serve on the existing education subcommittee, according to Reinhardt.

"My inclination would be to retain the same people who are already working on the education committee," Reinhardt said. The new mayor of Agoura Hills will make recommendations for committee placements, probably in January. Applicants must volunteer.