With the end of August, it feels to me like all is well, with the kids back in school. I always feel slightly nostalgic for when my grown kids were school age and I was waving them goodbye as they walked to their classrooms.
However, I do not feel nostalgic or happy about the traffic that is back on the streets, with school bells ringing again. And, I am especially not happy with the huge increase in Oak Park traffic this week. There are a LOT of vehicles on the streets! I think a big contribution to car numbers comes from the Oak Park Unified School District (OPUSD) policy of open enrollment from other districts, for up to one third of their student population.
I am NOT against kids from outside OPUSD going to Oak Park schools. I believe that out-of-district students contribute a lot to the schools, and give the district a viable size for offering a variety of subjects. What I do object to is not seeing any kind of public transit policy in place from OPUSD. Why does it have to be a one car-one or two student de facto transportation policy for the schools?
I rode the bus to school as a kid, and I’ll bet a lot of you did too! And, when I lived in Westlake Village in the the mid-1990s, I saw a school bus there picking up kids, while I was taking my morning walk. Why aren’t there school buses or vans in Oak Park to help alleviate the traffic jam?
Glen Wilcox // Aug 31, 2012 at 6:30 PM
Ages ago when Ahmanson Ranch was being considered for residential development, there was a tremendous hue and cry about all the extra Kanan road traffic that would result.
But now that the electorate in Oak Park has completely gone to sleep, letting Tony Knight rule the community as if it were his own personal fiefdom, traffic multiplies without a ripple.
Knight invites outsiders to make sure the size of his dominion expands, with nary a concern for the dormant taxpayers. Mark my words, there will be an appeal for more taxes to support these non-residents.
The most recent material sent out by OPUSD announced there would be open seats on the MAC, but not a word that there would be open seats on the school board. Perish the thought that someone could get elected who was not willing to ride the Knight bandwagon.
Editor: Comment edited and shortened.
Barbara De Minico // Aug 31, 2012 at 6:31 PM
I too live on Kanan, and know that from before 8AM til the start of the school day, traffic lines up from barely past Mae Boyer Park to the Smoketree traffic light, in a steady stream. If I need to leave my house at about that time, I know I will have to wait for a break in traffic to even come out of my frontage street. We definitely need to find an answer to the increased traffic on our one and only main street.
jeanne cope // Aug 31, 2012 at 8:09 PM
My question is why there are not more kids walking to school? I had to laugh at the carpool lady talking on the phone while standing in line at Pavalions. Evidently one of the kids was horrible. Because he got sick of waiting, he simply walked two blocks home. “I don’t care if it is just a few blocks. We must all ride in cars, ” she cried.
Seriously?
Eco-nerd // Aug 31, 2012 at 11:01 PM
They tried bussing last year. Turns out that the parents paid for transportation but continued to drive their kids.
This year, the powers that be have decided to have ‘glorified baby sitters’ on the campuses before school starts hoping to stagger the drop off times.
All of the traffic, pollution and wear and tear on our infastructure to help educate the unfortunate from the impoverished areas of Thousand Oaks, Westlake and Simi. And yes, you pay more in taxes than neighboring communities for this opportunity.
Barbara Schwartz // Sep 1, 2012 at 1:08 PM
So why does one reader think the superintendent is building a fiefdom rather than coming up with funds to run a school district? What is his idea to successfully run the school district? Dissolve it? Merge with Conejo? Please remember, District of Choice works both ways; our students also attend Westlake and Agoura and Oaks Christian yet pay Oak Park taxes.
Funds for busses disappeared a very long time ago. One bus holds 40 students and I believe the cost is $100,000 for the school year. Parents from Simi considered this option but opted to carpool instead. Students DO carpool, both within Oak Park and outside of Oak Park. Being involved to the degree I am with the district I am not aware that any public transportation was purchased, only considered as occurs every school year by parents for parents to pay for it themselves.
And good grief! We are not some hoity-toity school district servicing the impoverished!
I bet in other communities those living on the main streets near schools are equally unhappy with the amount of school traffic they receive.
I think the plan in place for earlier drop off is a good one. The first couple of weeks are always the worst. More students start walking, more start carpooling. We are three days in. Let’s give it a little more time.
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Eco-nerd // Sep 1, 2012 at 8:09 PM
Yes, a good plan for early drop off. Now we are not only providing education for those that do not have to pay our taxes but we are providing daycare at no cost.
I would also question the 1/3 limit on out of area students. If the district is up 300 students and still falls in the 1/3 rule, show us the numbers.
Stephanie Bertholdo // Sep 8, 2012 at 9:46 AM
Hi Everybody! I’m writing an article for The Acorn on this subject and would like permission to use full names in the article. Please email me at sberth@sbcglobal.net with a yes or no. If you say no, I’ll just use first names in the article. Also, feel free to add any other comments if and when you email me! Thanks so much.