DON'T SPLIT UP KIDS, PARENTS OF PUPILS SAY.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Staff Writer

SIMI VALLEY - Wood Ranch residents said in no uncertain terms they don't want the district to consider sending students away from Wood Ranch Elementary School to handle expected enrollment growth.

Residents presented a survey conducted among Wood Ranch residents to the school board Tuesday night, suggesting that the district use nearby park land for playgrounds and keep the school property for classrooms.

Of the 2,000 surveys mailed and handed out, 414 were returned. Respondents said overwhelmingly that they don't want attendance boundary changes or a drastic reconfiguration of grades.

``The solutions which divided the community, which took some of the kids . . . and put them into another school, those options were highly disfavored,'' said Ron Robinson, a Wood Ranch parent. ``It told (the school board) to make the best use of the sites you have, do the best you can with portables to accommodate the most students you can, reasonably.''

The residents suggested asking the Rancho Simi Recreation and Park District to share vacant park land, building playgrounds on it so school property can be used for classrooms.

That issue is expected to be discussed at the next school board meeting Feb. 29.

Board President Carla Kurachi said that while she supports that idea, it might not be enough of a long-term solution.

``It might be that another choice will have to be made,'' she said Wednesday. ``Either part of Wood Ranch will have to be going to another school, or perhaps making it a K-5 school. If the growth gets to that point, there's only so much money we have in our district as a whole for our facilities.''

Robinson said survey results were predicated on the fact that there are currently 14 portable classrooms on campus for a student population of up to 700. He said some residents who rejected boundary changes indicated they might change their opinion if many more portables are brought on and enrollment drastically increases.