SIMI VALLEY : Board Rescinds Middle Schools Plan

Simi Valley school board members have rescinded a plan to create middle schools in the district.

About 150 people attended a meeting at Simi Valley City Hall; more than two dozen spoke before the board voted 3 to 2 Tuesday night to scrap the plan.

“It’s an extremely grievous loss for our kids,” board member Doug Crosse said. However, board member Carla Kurachi, who voted against reconfiguration, said the board needs to address other issues, such as a lack of high school counselors and the need for classroom computers.

“It’s time to move on,” she said. “There are higher priorities.”

Under the rejected plan, elementary schools would have included kindergarten through fifth grade, middle schools would have accommodated grades six through eight and high schools would have housed nine through 12. Now, elementary schools include kindergarten through sixth grades, junior high schools are seventh through ninth grades, and high schools are 10 through 12.