Fast-Track Funding Sought for New College

VENTURA COUNTY — Area lawmakers are forging a unified front in their bid to have the Legislature establish an operating budget for a public four-year college near Camarillo, after final approval Wednesday of the new campus by the Cal State University governing board.

The financial support is key to the trustees’ decision to accelerate the timetable for launching a free-standing university at the shuttered Camarillo State Hospital complex.

The Cal State governing board approved Cal State Channel Islands, making it the 23rd campus in the university system and setting the stage for opening the school at least two years earlier than anticipated. But the vote was contingent on several factors, including the ability to draw an additional $13 million a year from the state budget to operate the fledgling university.

Toward that end, local legislators said they are confident they can squeeze the extra money out of Sacramento, given the strong economy and the addition of education-friendly Democrats to the offices of the governor and the secretary of education.

“Timing is everything and we feel the time is right to accelerate development of the campus,” said state Sen. Jack O’Connell (D-San Luis Obispo), one of the most ardent supporters of the local university.

The university could be ready to open as early as August 2002.