How have CVUSD and LVUSD schools been affected by budget cuts? (Los Angeles: house, to buy)

[MovintoJax]

I have read lots of rave reviews online about the schools in the CVUSD and LVUSD. We are trying to buy a house in a good school district because it sounded like it would be unnecessary to pay for private schools when the public schools in the area are supposed to be so good (I've even read as much on this board). We have primarily been looking in Thousand Oaks (possibly Lang Ranch area) and Calabasas.

BUT, I am wondering if anyone can tell me how the schools in the area have been affected by budget cuts...I am feeling like API scores don't tell the whole story about the program and most of the parent reviews I've seen on greatschools.org were posted before the cuts took effect.

What things were offered before that are no longer available or seem to be inferior?

My daughter will be entering kindergarten in the fall. We live out of state currently and her preschool has a wonderful program -- in addition to basics like handwriting and phonics, she is learning Spanish and has music and dance.

I was hoping we'd find a good program for her that might include art, phys. ed., music and Spanish, but some of the public school sites I've been on don't mention them so I guess I'm to assume either they were cut or were never offered?

I'm not sure we can afford private school, but I am worried that the "good" schools might not be quite as good as they used to be. Does anyone have any insight?

[Charles]

I don't have any recent news but you might try searching through the Ventura County Star, the Acorn, the Thousand Oaks Acorn, the Calabasas Acorn...but mostly the Star and also the Los Angeles Daily News, perhaps the LA Times.

My kids went to Lang Ranch Elementary and that school is so darn good, the teachers, the facilities, the PTA, the parents, etc. It's usually in the top three or four elementary schools in Ventura County.

[BRinSM]

my mother in law works for OPUSD, they've definitely had cutbacks but still offer some of the best public schools in the entire region. the main issue with the thousand oaks area in general is the declining number of students. the area got so expensive so quickly that new families couldn't afford to move in to "replenish" the supply of students. less students = less funds for school districts.

[Naomi Manischewitz]

I know they both cut back on counselors. I was supposed to intern out in CV, but they got rid of 25% of their counselors. Don't know what the story is in LV, but they seem to have removed their college counselros when I checked.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by BRinSM

my mother in law works for OPUSD, they've definitely had cutbacks but still offer some of the best public schools in the entire region. the main issue with the thousand oaks area in general is the declining number of students. the area got so expensive so quickly that new families couldn't afford to move in to "replenish" the supply of students. less students = less funds for school districts.

I remember a few years ago Oak Park was inviting kids from other districts to attend OP schools. I think it was more of a demographic timing thing as a lot of Oak Park was built up in the (1970s and) 1980s and those kids are out of school now so there are probably a lot of empty nesters there with no kids in school.

Oak Park May Recruit From Other Districts - Los Angeles Times


Here's something I just read, one third of OP school kids are from out of district:

Out-of-town students enroll | www.theacorn.com | The Acorn

[Mr.Bungle]

I'm not 100% sure. I know enrollment has been down in CVUSD. They actually closed my old elementary school not too long ago. My mom is a teacher in CVUSD. I'll have to ask he how she's been affected.