The Conejo Valley Unified School District board approved a new science and technology magnet school Tuesday, while parents unveiled their plans to open an arts and technology charter.

The board voted unanimously during a special meeting Tuesday night to approve a kindergarten through eighth-grade program, which will open in fall 2009. The Environmental Academy for Research Technology and eartH Sciences, or EARTHS, will set up at the current site of Manzanita School in Newbury Park, said Principal Jennifer Boone.

The establishment of the magnet means that school boundaries will be reconfigured. Current Manzanita School students could stay in the new program or transfer to nearby schools to make room for other incoming EARTHS students. Manzanita students are not guaranteed spots in the new magnet school.

"We are focused on giving parents choice," said Boone. "We know that we have issues in our school with socioeconomic balance," and a magnet school can help lift boundaries and create the opportunity to balance schools, she said.

As of June, Manzanita had 401 students, but the school has room for 590, Boone said.

EARTHS students will be chosen through a lottery process, which has yet to be determined, Boone said. Applications for EARTHS could be available as early as October, and the school will open by fall 2009, she said.

The curriculum will be built around an "integrated, interdisciplinary process," and students will learn through hands-on experiments and projects, Boone said.

There are plans to partner with several nearby colleges, hospitals and national parks to enhance EARTHS' program offerings.

"We do know from a number of (Manzanita) parents that they are anxious to have priority to stay," said Superintendent Mario Contini to the board. "We will bring back to you some sort of plan where we can reserve seats for people in the area and for a number of people outside of the district so we can have a nice cross-section."

In other news, Meadows School parents presented their plans for a charter school during a public hearing portion of the meeting. On June 17, the board decided in a 3-2 vote to close Meadows and University schools by fall 2009 because of declining enrollment.

Marlo Hartsuyker, co-founder and president of Meadows Arts and Technology Elementary School, or M.A.T.E.S., said a charter school in Thousand Oaks would provide another viable choice for parents and students.

Hartsuyker pointed to the cadre of professionals — a college professor, microbiologist, accountants, lawyers and credentialed teachers — who are founding members of the charter.

"The intent and purpose behind the charter laws is to give greater autonomy and local control to those so they can create academic achievements," Hartsuyker said. "The Meadows community is the exact community that would embrace this type of empowerment. We are ready for this opportunity, and more importantly, we are qualified as well."

M.A.T.E.S. supporters said the kindergarten through fifth-grade program would attract parents who have left the district and those whose children currently attend private and home-school programs.

M.A.T.E.S. officials said parents of 256 students have already indicated they would send their children to the charter, and 12 of the 15 current Meadows teachers support the proposed program.

Hartsuyker said the state Department of Education has indicated the charter is eligible for a maximum school grant of $250,000.

More than 20 Meadows parents and community members implored the board to consider the charter proposal. The five board members, however, did not offer any comments since it was a public hearing.

Trustee Dolores Didio, who has said in previous meetings she did not support the charter, said Wednesday that magnet programs like EARTHS, or an arts and technology or dual immersion magnet would be better options.

"We need to think about the other 20,000 students and continue to provide them with a good education," she said.

The board also approved the 2008-09 budget during Tuesday night's meeting.

According to Deputy Superintendent Jeffrey Baarstad, next year's coffers were hit hard since the state will not provide cost-of-living funds, while the district estimates it will lose more money because of declining enrollment. The board made the decision last month to cut $1.9 million in expenses and voted to use deferred maintenance and worker's compensation funds to offset costs.

According to estimates, the district will have a $5.8 million ending balance for next year's budget, but will have $1.5 million in one-time costs for using deferred maintenance and worker's compensation funds to balance the 2008-09 budget. Baarstad said the board will receive another budget update in August.

"In spite of declining enrollment, we produced a budget with an ending balance that exceeds the 3 percent reserve, but we still have a lot of work to do next year," Baarstad said.