History
As the construction of subdivisions proceeded in Oak Park during the 1970s and the population increased, schooling arrangements became increasingly frustrating for residents. Students had to be bused to high schools in Simi Valley, 23 miles away by road, and back again each day - this despite the fact that the schools of the nearby Las Virgenes Unified School District stood in proximity. With Oak Park lying in Ventura County, California and Las Virgenes in Los Angeles County, though, Oak Park students were not allowed to attend.
Seeking to deal with the problem, Oak Park residents petitioned for annexation to Las Virgenes and were flatly rejected in 1974. Smarting from the blow, they created the Oak Park Unified School District in 1977 and broke ground for the high school in 1978. Students were housed in trailers from 1979 to 1980 until the school began admitting students at its present site in 1981. It functioned as both middle and high school until 1992, when nearby Medea Creek Middle School began educating sixth through eighth grade students.
Campus expansion has continued in recent years with the addition of a library, a performing arts center, a new gym floor, a new rubberized track, turf football field (same field as Dallas Cowboys) and Science Labs.
Read more about this topic: Oak Park High School (California)
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