Says they’re doing their homework concerning Conejo Valley High School, would like to see it saved

Mayor Andy Fox and The Acorn have both indicated that any public review of the potential historic value of Conejo Valley High, previously known as Timber School, is a "ploy to make the site un-developable." Both appear to be extremely rash opinions regarding two individuals fulfilling their public service duties as they see them.

The idea that making the site a local landmark would render it un-developable suggests an all or nothing position. This is simply not the situation, as indicated in the successful refurbishment of our former city hall as a local landmark.

There is nothing sinister in our newfound position on the school site. For nearly two decades it was planned without informing the public. But, quite by fluke, it was brought to our attention. Michael Farris does do his homework, and he takes his position on the planning commission seriously. He questioned the age of the buildings planned for demolition, and was told by staff that they were from the late 1950s. Since there was no information submitted in his reports, Farris called his district’s County Cultural Heritage Board member and asked if I knew anything about the site. I didn’t, so I drove over and looked around.

I found a wonderful 1967 news article describing the century-old history of the school mounted in the library. I didn’t know that it was even once called Timber School.

A cheap plywood sign calling it Conejo Valley High School now covers the name "Timber School," engraved in the concrete threshold of the entrance doorway.

This information, interviews with Stagecoach Inn docents, and research from the Thousand Oaks Historical Archive gave us both a strong sense that we would be severely remiss in our responsibilities if we did not bring this issue before the Thousand Oaks Cultural Heritage Board. Typically, any site that is older than fifty years automatically triggers a query of historic relevance.

This school was here nearly forty years before Thousand Oaks was a city. That $700,000 of public money was about to be spent to demolish it without public debate or review, forced an inquiry into the various government agency plans for this site.

If these plans had been brought to the Cultural Heritage Board or the public for review years earlier, much of the frustration now felt by Mayor Fox and Dolores Didio could have been avoided. If demolition without debate has been the plan since the 1980s, we must then truly question our commitment to preserving what few cultural and historic sites we may have left in the Conejo.

William Maple

Newbury Park