8/11/23: Oxnard City Manager Alexander Nguyen Releases Statement on Del Sol High School Lacking Safety Requirements for Opening

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 11, 2023

NEWS MEDIA CONTACT:
Katie Casey, Communications Manager

(805) 816-4330 | katie.casey@oxnard.org

Oxnard City Manager Alexander Nguyen Releases Statement on Del Sol High School Lacking Safety Requirements for Opening

OXNARD, Calif. – While the Oxnard Union High School District (School District) Board of Trustees and Superintendent claim the City of Oxnard is responsible for the potential delayed opening of Del Sol High School by refusing to provide access to water, the fact is it’s about much more than water.

The School District leadership has failed to meet its own construction deadlines and is now pressuring the City to approve plans that would not provide safe access to Del Sol High School via sidewalks, properly marked crosswalk intersections, working traffic signals and other street safety improvements, thus allowing the opening of the new school before the necessary safety improvements are completed.

The City has worked diligently with the School District, even amending the School District’s agreement for the development of key components of Del Sol High School when their construction schedule fell behind. We trusted the School District to at least meet the public safety conditions required in their agreement. Clearly, that was a mistake.

The School District’s development of the new high school requires safe streets and sidewalks for students, teachers, and the surrounding public to use. The School District has not completed these requirements and instead the School District‘s leadership have been pressuring the City to sign off on the project prior to completion.

I will not bend to political pressure and force our licensed city engineer to sign off on a project that is lacking critical safety elements.

Inserting a new high school into an existing neighborhood automatically increases pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle traffic. Until the necessary construction of sidewalks, crosswalks, intersections, traffic signals and other street improvements are completed, the project does not meet safety standards and should not be certified by the State. Simply put, Del Sol High School in its current construction is not yet safe for either students, teachers, staff or the general public.

While I am disappointed that the School District tried to unfairly blame its delays on other parties, our staff remains dedicated to working with them so that Del Sol High School will be built to the standards that were agreed upon by the School District (available here). The City looks forward to welcoming a safe, well-constructed Del Sol High School.

California schools are inspected and certified by the Division of the State Architect (DSA), which provides design and construction oversight for K-12 schools. As of Aug. 11, 2023 at 10 a.m., the State website shows that Del Sol High School (project application number 119965) shows no inspection sign offs and no certifications.

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