Bridges has mounted an aggressive public relations campaign, hoping to pressure the Conejo Valley Unified School District Board of Education into giving them the University campus, a decision that’s not in the best interests of residents.

When the fiscal crisis affected the Open Classroom program, CVUSD worked with the magnet school to reduce the impacts and to grow the program in new directions. Some families and staff chose to remain in the Open Classroom Leadership Magnet while others left CVUSD.

By law, Bridges must be given space on a district campus, but CVUSD decides where.

University is centrally located and visible from a frequently traveled road, making it ideal for a communitywide resource. It’s a valuable district asset.

The Child Development Center being established there will offer many services under one roof, including child care, a quality preschool and various services for special needs infants and prekindergarten children.

Sadly, Bridges has attempted to frighten parents at campuses being considered for co-location, claiming that students sharing a campus with Bridges will feel deprived and that families will be forced to move to other schools to make space.

This is simply untrue. It seems clear to me that their underlying motive is to add further pressure for the placement of the charter at University.

When the current financial crisis is over, the long-term consequences of today’s decisions will remain. In the past, similar decisions gave us a first-class parenting program at the former Horizon Hills Elementary and an outstanding adult education program at the former Waverly Elementary School. Both provide valuable services and pay substantial rent to the district. I believe we’ll be equally proud of the Child Development Center in years to come.

The next few months will be difficult for the CVUSD family.

Critical issues affecting far more students that the few hundred enrolled in Bridges loom on the horizon.

Bridges voices are loud, making some eager to give in to their demands, but let’s not be tempted to take our eyes off of the more important work ahead.
Betsy Connolly
Thousand Oaks
Connolly serves on the CVUSD Board of Education.