Toilets to flush, doors open at Del Sol High School after Oxnard district, city reach deal
Del Sol High School in Oxnard is expected to have functional restrooms for its first-ever day of class on Wednesday despite threats last week from the city to withhold water and sewer access at Ventura County's newest campus.
On Monday, Oxnard Union High School District Superintendent Tom McCoy said by phone, the city and district staff came to an agreement to turn on utilities at the campus at 1975 Camino Del Sol, between Rose and Rice avenues in Central Oxnard.
The city previously told district officials it would not turn on the water or allow use of sewer lines at the campus until the district completed a traffic control plan and finished the corresponding work.
City Manager Alex Nguyen said by phone Monday that the city had authorized utility connections for the school, and in an email Tuesday morning said the city approved the district's traffic plan.
McCoy said Tuesday morning that teams began work to turn on traffic signals and paint sidewalk crossings on Gibraltar Street and at the school's main entrance on Camino Del Sol on Tuesday. They'll also turn on water and sewer lines, just in time for the school's start Wednesday morning.
Road rage
City officials approved a traffic control plan in the early stages of Del Sol's development, but asked the district to submit a new, temporary plan because parts of the project wouldn't be finished by the first day of school, Nguyen said.
McCoy said Tuesday that the campus itself is "95% complete" with work remaining this fall on Del Sol's gym and fields.
As part of a 2021 plan with the city, Oxnard Union had agreed to up to more than $30 million in off-site improvements, including two city streets, sidewalks, undergrounded utilities, a bike lane, four new signaled intersections and 2 miles of sewer line. Some are done but most of those improvements are slated to be finished in March, McCoy said.
The district went public about the back-and-forth on Friday, saying in a statement that the city had rejected four traffic plan drafts in the space of two weeks.
On Saturday, district trustees voted in a special meeting to open the school on schedule with or without the city, relying on a contingency plan to rent about 20 portable toilets and transport 4,000 gallons of well water from Rio Mesa High School for Del Sol's first day.
McCoy said that district and city representatives worked on amendments to the plan throughout the weekend and during an all-day meeting Monday. The plan the city finally approved on Tuesday, he said, was the district's seventh draft.
Nguyen did not elaborate on why the city rejected the previous drafts, but said in an email Tuesday that the district "repeatedly re-submitted incorrect, deficient, unsafe plans."
"Bottom line, the School District did not have a licensed traffic engineer working on their traffic plan; their team did not have the necessary expertise," he wrote.
McCoy pushed back, saying the district had contracted a civil engineer from Toro Enterprises, an Oxnard-based firm that works on street improvements, striping and signage across Ventura County and Southern California.
This week's agreements mean the 500 freshmen, 27 teachers and 12 support staff who arrive on the campus Wednesday will be able to use the school's permanent facilities.
"It was a long road, but we're really happy to be here today," McCoy said Monday.
The superintendent said some of the plan will be adjusted and further traffic improvements will be made as the district finishes construction on other parts of the campus.
But, he said, "We're gonna be good to go for this week."
Isaiah Murtaugh covers education for the Ventura County Star in partnership with Report for America. Reach him at isaiah.murtaugh@vcstar.com or 805-437-0236 and follow him on Twitter @isaiahmurtaugh and @vcsschools. You can support this work with a tax-deductible donation to Report for America.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Oxnard district, city reach deal to open Del Sol High School
