No new school building planned for Highlands residential development

About 100 residents attended a school board meeting last Tuesday to share their concerns about the pending purchase of a 22-acre vacant school site in the Moorpark Highlands.

Homeowners in the new development north of downtown Moorpark have been rallying to oppose the deal because it would cost them about $15.8 million over the next three decades but won't provide a new neighborhood school in the foreseeable future.

Almost half of a $38-million Community Facilities District bond imposed on Highlands residents for community improvements is to be used to buy the large, flat property from Pardee Homes.

The land is slated for a kindergarten through eighth-grade campus, but enrollment declines, budget shortfalls and the economic downturn have forced Moorpark school officials to delay plans for the new school.

Now homeowners hope to get the $15.8 million in special assessments for the vacant school site "back into the pot" to reduce their future fees.

School leaders explained at the meeting that Moorpark Unified School District may have several options, but nothing is final yet.

"The district has a legal contract to purchase that property, but the terms of the contract between Pardee and the school district could be modified if everyone agrees to it," said David Pollock, president of the school board.

The agreement between the school district and Pardee Homes could be renegotiated or cancelled; the district could purchase the land and then consider selling the property; or the property could be sold now, said Superintendent Ellen Smith.

"We are and have been in discussions with the various parties involved," she said.

The school site issue also involves the city. An arrangement was made in 2004 to use tax-exempt bond money to buy the land. The bond was issued by the city last year but funds haven't been disbursed to the school district yet, Smith said.

In earlier interviews, city leaders said they were concerned that use of the land for anything other than a school site could jeopardize the taxexempt status of the bonds and subject the city to lawsuits.

School and city representatives have been meeting in ad hoc committees to resolve those concerns.

Residents acknowledge the school district's predicament.

"I think the city, Pardee and the school district will have a lot to talk about in coming weeks," said Ron Howard, a Highlands resident.

"I'd like all three parties to check their egos at the door to get into some serious business and think about the community's interest and not their self-interest," he said.

"Not buying the site sounds really good," said Jennifer Standage, a Highlands homeowner and a parent who had hoped to walk her children to the new neighborhood school.

"As a homeowner it's devastating to have a promise taken away . . . but buying a vacant lot isn't a desirable option either," she said.

"We're basically in limbo here," said Veronica Busch, who is leading the effort to resolve the matter on behalf of about 300 homeowners who, like herself, live in the Highlands.