Las Virgenes Unified School District

Undaunted by the failure of two local tax initiatives a few years ago, Las Virgenes Unified School District officials are studying their facility needs in anticipation of going to the voters again for funding. District Supt. John F. Fitzpatrick said overcrowded campuses and ever-increasing enrollment make a local bond issue almost a necessity. "Facility-wise, we need to do something," Fitzpatrick said. "We're kind of pushing at the seams now.

Responding to what school officials have called a widespread social problem rather than one specific to the area, the Las Virgenes Unified School District Board of Education tonight will discuss the use of drug-sniffing dogs on middle and secondary school campuses. The board is expected to decide if it will contract with the Modesto-based Interquest Group Inc.'s Safe School Canines program, which uses dogs to randomly search lockers, classrooms and cars on campus.

Sixty-five nonunion managers employed by the Las Virgenes Unified School District are slated to receive 2.75% pay hikes retroactive to July 1995. The increases, approved last week by the Board of Education, coincide with similar cost-of-living increases for two unionized employee groups, officials said. The managers' raises will cost the district an additional $56,000 per year, said Donald Zimring, the district's superintendent of business.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District is considering increasing the number of credits required to graduate. Officials say it would enhance students' education by getting them to take more electives. Beginning in 1997, incoming high school freshmen would need 230 credits to graduate, up from 220. The Board of Education will take a final vote June 11. Supt. John Fitzpatrick, who proposed the idea, said many students already have more than 220 credits when they graduate.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District has drawn up tentative plans for a new elementary school in Westlake Village to accommodate an influx of students from proposed housing developments north of the Ventura Freeway. Irvine-based Western Pacific Housing has proposed building 180 condominiums on a 23-acre site that is part of the city's Westlake North Specific Plan. Another developer, Westwood-based Kaufman & Broad Home Corp.

Concerned for the safety of youngsters, officials with the Las Virgenes Unified School District say they plan to install a security fence around Arthur E. Wright Middle School in Calabasas. The money will come from a $10,000 annual allotment set aside by the district for security measures for secondary schools, said Donald Zimring, assistant superintendent of business for the district.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District may place a bond measure on the ballot in March to raise money to finance new school construction and repair existing facilities. Details have not been completed, but the measure would probably be "in the $30-million range," Supt. John Fitzpatrick said Wednesday. The Board of Education, which has final say, has been discussing the matter in study sessions, he said.

The Las Virgenes Unified School District has approved a new, three-year contract with classified employees that provides 6% to 8% pay raises the first year and ties future raises to increases in either enrollment or state aid. "I think we got an excellent contract," said Audrey Meyers, co-president of the Las Virgenes Classified Assn., which represents 350 nonteaching, non-management employees.

To accommodate future growth in enrollment, the Las Virgenes Unified School District has increased developer fees to help finance new school construction. The Board of Education voted this week to increase fees beginning April 27 to the limit allowed under state law, $1.84 per square foot for residential construction and 30 cents per square foot for commercial/industrial. Currently, the fees are $1.72 per square foot, and 28 cents per square foot, respectively.

Beginning in 1997, Las Virgenes Unified School District will require students to take a year of algebra and geometry to graduate, as part of an effort to beef up the agency's math program. The Board of Education on Tuesday unanimously approved the plan developed by Supt. John Fitzpatrick. Beginning in school year 1997-98, students will have to take a year of algebra in the ninth grade and a year of geometry in the 10th. Currently, students are required to take two years of basic math.