CASTAIC SCHOOLS TO DEBATE LEAVING HART DISTRICT.

Byline: James J. Rodriguez Daily News Staff Writer

Saying they would like to retain local control over their schools, Castaic School Board members are considering seceding from the Hart High School District and creating a unified district.

Unification would allow the kindergarten through eighth grade Castaic Union School District to build its own high school rather than send students about 10 miles south to Hart's Valencia High School.

Board members will hear a presentation on unification tonight given by Greg Magnuson of the Los Angeles County Office of Education. The board will meet at 6 p.m. in the Castaic Elementary School staff room. The public is invited.

Although the unification issue has been discussed for years in Castaic, it has never materialized because there weren't enough students to warrant a unified district, Castaic officials said.

But with several developments planned in the community over the next 10 years that could ultimately result in an additional 4,550 students, things may have changed, according to Castaic Superintendent Alan Nishino.

"I think we are getting close to the numbers that will make it feasible," Nishino said. "We are going to take a look at it. This is the first formal step we'll take on unification."

During the presentation, Magnuson will explain the pros and cons of unification to the board and answer questions. Nishino said it could be at least five years before the Castaic district would unify - providing board members continue to back the idea.

"We have been talking about it for some time," said Irene Massey, board president. "Among ourselves, board members are saying we think we should really take a look at this again."

Some board members said unifying would mean better control over assuring students transition from lower to upper grades more smoothly.

"I think the children should go to school locally," added board member Tom Caesar. "That way the district can be responsible from the beginning to the end of a child's education."

Caesar said he favors tackling the unification process now, rather than wait in the future when the district could find itself with more students to house.

At present, the district has two elementary schools and a middle-school campus. Supporters of unification say a number of developments planned for the community will bring in enough students to operate a viable high school. The largest of those is the NorthLake project, planned just north of Castaic Lake and including sites for new schools that would be turned over to the district.

On the opposite edge of the Santa Clarita Valley region, the Acton-Agua Dulce School District is in its second year of unification.