School districts across the country are struggling to meet the needs of all children in their districts. I applaud the attempts of Conejo Valley Unified School District to think outside the box during these times, but sometimes out of the box isn’t necessary.

Whether everyone agrees with the philosophy of the new Bridges Charter School or not, the charter was approved and the school will provide a beautiful education for children who will be attending.

In accordance with Prop. 39, CVUSD must provide a space for the school that’s comparable to other schools in the district.

The University campus, with its 14 classrooms and furniture, sits ready to serve its intended purpose as a place of education for our students.

Another possibility by CVUSD is to redraw district lines, relocating students at Park Oaks or Glenwood schools to make room for Bridges at either of those campuses instead.

Not only would students at these schools be unnecessarily uprooted, but Bridges will likely outgrow the space by its second year. Then what?

Additionally, the philosophy of Bridges is different from a traditional school. In the case of a blended campus, neither school will be able to adequately achieve its mission and vision. Why would CVUSD encourage a subpar learning environment for so many of our children?

CVUSD intends to have a mega for-profit child care/preschool center at University, but why impede growth and disrupt families and communities now for a dream that’s so far away and may never happen?

Not only could the existing three preschool/child care classrooms at University co-exist with Bridges, but we should all consider that the original intent behind Neighborhoods for Learning Preschool was to put preschools at various elementary campuses where they would offer one-stop convenience to parents with preschoolers and elementary-aged students, while also easing the preschool-to-elementary transition by familiarizing those students with the campus each would ultimately attend.

Why then is the district fighting so hard to keep Bridges out of the University campus? I hope everyone will be an advocate for our children.
Teri Johnson
Thousand Oaks