Decision on school closures comes none too early

The school-closing nightmare in Conejo Valley Unified School District is at last drawing to a close.

Next Tuesday night, the board of education is expected to name the two campuses that will close in September 2009. If nothing else, it will alleviate the turmoil for parents and kids at unaffected schools. Under the circumstances, that will be a huge improvement.

For parents of young people at the two schools destined for closure, it will be time for decisions. In all probability, they will be assigned a school that matches their home address.

We suspect children will have fewer difficulties switching schools than their parents. Kids adapt. They accept change more easily than moms and dads.

Some residents are using school closures as a reason to target members of the board of education who may seek reelection in November. Although there are reasons to vote against any incumbent, closing schools isn't one of them.

Nobody wants to close any school.

The district is compelled to protect itself. The drop in enrollment caused the problem, nothing else.

The school board would have been irresponsible if it had ignored the inevitable. The public outcry would have been universal and permanent if trustees and administrators had disregarded the drop in enrollment and put the district into bankruptcy. Board members did what they did because they had no choice.

Ignoring the problem would have been like an ostrich sticking its head in the sand. That's the last thing we needed.

Could the school closure problem have been handled differently? Yes, but hindsight is always 20-20. The stress began when eight schools were listed as candidates for closure.

The worrying ate away at far more people than necessary. Two schools were going to close, not eight. It might have been better if the starting point had been half that many. The district, though, wanted everyone to know that all options were on the table.

Residents needed to know the process wasn't fixed.

After a committee recommended the top two schools for closure, three other schools were added back into the mix, which caused another round of stress and a second round of protests.

Next Tuesday night, the nightmare of uncertainty will stop. It comes none too soon.