The majority of people who responded to a recent Acorn online poll disagreed with a Ventura County grand jury suggestion that some local school districts should merge in order to save taxpayer dollars.

In its May report “School District Administration: Is the Cost Too High?” the grand jury recommended the 20 public school districts in the county be reduced to just six, which would save millions of dollars in administrative costs.

The school boards had until July 17 to respond.

School superintendents in the Simi, Moorpark, Oak Park and Conejo Valley districts disagreed with the grand jury’s report and said their schools operate efficiently as they are. Officials said the education community prefers smaller, local school districts over larger, consolidated ones.

In answer to the question “Should Conejo Valley and Oak Park unified school districts merge?” 56 percent of respondents said no and 44 percent said yes.

“Become another Los Angeles Unified School District? No thanks,” one reader wrote.

Readers of the Simi Valley Acorn and the Moorpark Acorn voted 56 percent to 44 percent against the grand jury’s recommendation for a merger between those two districts.

“Moorpark would get lost in Simi’s district,” was one comment. “The two cities have been far too competitive for many years.”

Simi, Moorpark and Conejo Valley school officials said they share resources and costreducing measures with each other and the Ventura County Office of Education to a certain extent already.

Pleasant Valley School District officials would not consider consolidating with their smaller, neighboring districts, but the Acorn online poll showed 59 percent of respondents favored a merger involving the Pleasant Valley, Mesa and Somis Union school districts.

An Acorn study—in conjunction with the grand jury report—determined the three Camarillo area districts, some with only one school each, could significantly reduce their $733,000 in combined annual administrative costs.

The grand jury report is available at the website grandjury .countyofventura.org.

Visit www.theacorn.com to take part in additional polls about the issues that affect your community.