Oak Park to welcome more out-of-district students





By Sylvie Belmond
Acorn Staff Writer

As the student population in Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD) shrinks, the district is struggling to maintain its funding. Enrollment records project that about 300 students will graduate from Oak Park High School in June while only 53 new kindergartners enrolled this fall.


State taxes for public schools are based on enrollment.


"It does point us in a direction the district has not been in before," said OPUSD Superintendent Anthony Knight at a school board meeting last week. Diminishing enrollment will affect OPUSD’s budget because the state disburses about $5,000 per student per year to the district. Less money means fewer programs.


Fortunately, said Knight, California has a step-down program to help the district adapt to these changes gradually. It allows OPUSD to use last year’s enrollment numbers for 2004-2005 state funding purposes.


Oak Park’s student population is shrinking because there are no new homes, apartments or condos being built in Oak Park, said Knight in a later interview. Furthermore, housing prices in Oak Park are high and there isn’t a lot of turnover.


The high cost of housing may also prevent younger families with small children from moving into Oak Park, Knight said. 


To preserve programs, OPUSD embraces transfer students who come to Oak Park on inter-district permits.


"We welcome as many out-of-district students as we can because we realize it’s connected to our ability to sustain our programs," said Jim Kalember in an interview. Kalember serves on OPUSD’s Board of Education.


"We offer intimate academic, social and extracurricular environments," Kalember said. Oak Park schools also offer a safe environment for students, he said.


"We have plenty of space for students to come in on inter-district permits," said Knight.


It’s unlikely, however, that a large number of students will transfer into Oak Park from Las Virgenes or Conejo Valley unified school district boundaries because they also have a reputation for excellence in education.


Right now 281 out-of-district students attend Oak Park schools on permits, while 80 leave OPUSD on permits to attend elsewhere. 


To save money, OPUSD also plans to implement energy conservation measures. All funds saved on energy will be split 50/50 between schools and the district to balance the overall budget.


In other action, the school board praised Oak View continuation high school students for their performance on the state’s exit exam. Although continuation schools don’t usually perform well on these tests, Oak View is an exception. Trustees praised the efforts of students, administrators and teachers for a job well done.


Eighty-three percent of Oak View students passed the state’s exit exam.


Overall, continuation schools in California scored an average of 40 to 50 percent.


Oak View’s results were remarkable, according to Knight. Those percentages, however, don’t reflect other local continuation high schools like Indian Hills because the number of students taking the test was fewer than 10.


Knight was generous in his praise of Oak View. "This is clearly due to the quality of the staff. The teachers are amazing and care about every single student. The school offers highly personalized and individualized programs," he said. Knight also commended Principal Millie Andress and her teachers.


"The school offers a hope for many of our students who would otherwise drop out of school," Knight said.


Volunteers needed


OPUSD is still looking for volunteers to join the Measure D4 Parcel Tax Oversight Committee. It will review projections and collections of Measure D4 funds, review how the money is utilized, and check for compliance on senior citizen exemptions, among other duties. The application deadline is Oct. 15. 


Applicants must be registered voters who live in Oak Park. For a copy of the application or more information, call Linda Sheridan at (818) 735-3206 or visit the OPUSD office at 5801 E. Conifer St. in Oak Park.



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