Indian Hills High School will be leaving Calabasas
By Stephanie Bertholdo  bertholdo@theacorn.com

The campus of Indian Hills High School, an alternative school in the Las Virgenes Unified School District, has been leased to New Village Academy of Calabasas.

New Village Academy is a pre-kindergarten through eighth-grade private school scheduled to open this fall. It is currently operating as a home school.

Las Virgenes officials say Indian Hills, located on Las Virgenes Road in Calabasas, will be moved to another campus this fall to help offset expected budget cuts proposed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Las Virgenes district says it must shore up a potential loss of $7 million by generating income and cutting costs. The lease of the school will generate $889,000 in revenue over three years, LVUSD financial officer Karen Kimmel told the school board members. The district will also save by not having to pay utilities, an additional $75,000 over the period of the lease.

Board member Terilyn Finders called the move a "first line of attack" to deal with the potential multimillion-dollar shortfall. "We found nearly $1 million and haven't talked about cutting one program," Finders said.

Board President Cindy Iser said the actions were "resourceful."

Superintendent Donald Zimring said he is working with Indian Hills Principal Jeanette Ober to find an acceptable alternative location for the students. School officials have not released any information about where the students will attend school next year, whether teachers will be retained, or if Ober will keep her principal's job.

Known as a school of "second chances," Indian Hills High School is where some at-risk teens land because of learning problems, difficulty in dealing with family hardships, or other hurdles that interfere with earning a high school diploma.

"It's sad for these kids," Ober said about the relocation. "It's going to be hard on them."

Retaining the identity of the school, which is known for smaller classroom settings and personalized attention from a dedicated teaching and administrative staff, was a concern for board member Dave Moorman. He said he wanted to make sure the school, wherever it was relocated, would retain the same level of services and maintain its unique identity.