Oak Park Unified School District serves the unincorporated community of Oak Park in southeastern Ventura County. The area was originally part of the Jordan Ranch owned by radio performers Jim and Marian Jordan, known for their program “Fibber McGee and Molly.” Their 2,600-acre ranch occupied the land north of the present site of Oak Park High School and remained open rangeland for many decades.
Development of the Oak Park community

In the 1960s, developer Louis Boyar and the Metropolitan Development Corporation (MDC), known for creating the master-planned city of Lakewood, purchased the Jordan Ranch property and began planning a new community. Work began in 1967 with the extension of Kanan Road from the Hillrise tract in Agoura into what was then undeveloped hillside. At that time there were no schools, shopping centers, or connecting roads beyond the new extension.

Model homes opened in 1967, and the first 160 houses were completed that year. Early advertising described Oak Park as a modern planned community with underground utilities, sidewalks, parks, and a future elementary school site. Initial tracts were built along Kanan Road, Birchwood, Oakleaf, Pinewood, Tamarind, and Satinwood, with additional streets added in 1968 and subsequent phases in the 1970s and 1980s.

Housing development continued through the 1980s and 1990s, including single-family homes, townhomes, apartments, and condominiums. The final subdivision, the Chambord Homes, was completed in 2000. Oak Park has remained fully built out since that time.
Population and housing

By the late 1990s, Oak Park Water Service documented about 4,700 residential hookups as construction neared completion. According to the most recent U.S. Census estimates, Oak Park is home to 13,656 residents living in approximately 5,200 housing units.

Establishment of local schools
The first school in Oak Park, Brookside Elementary School, opened in 1968 to serve families moving into the early tracts. At the time, Oak Park students were part of the Simi Valley Unified School District.

Beginning in 1970, residents sought to leave Simi Valley Unified and join Las Virgenes Unified School District because of proximity to Agoura and Calabasas. The request was denied three times. Residents then began the process to establish a separate school district.
Formation of Oak Park Unified School District

On January 13, 1977, the State Board of Education approved the proposal to form Oak Park Unified School District. Voters held an election on May 31, 1977. Seventy-seven percent of eligible residents participated, and ninety-three percent voted in favor. A five-member Board of Education was elected the same day and held its first meeting on June 14, 1977.

As the community grew, OPUSD opened additional schools:

• Brookside Elementary School opened in 1968.
• Oak Hills Elementary School opened in 1978.
• Oak Park High School opened in 1981
• Red Oak Elementary School opened in 1991.
• Medea Creek Middle School opened in 1992.
• Oak View High School
• Oak Park Independent School were established in the 1990s.
• The Oak Park Neighborhood School opened in 2004 for early childhood education, though its opening was not tied to new residential development.

District offices and support services were constructed as OPUSD expanded its operations.

 

Community identity and civic development
In 1991, the local postmaster authorized the use of “Oak Park, CA 91301” for local addresses. On January 1, 1999, Oak Park received its own ZIP code, 91377, which resolved recurring administrative and service issues tied to sharing a ZIP code with Agoura in Los Angeles County.

Commercial development followed residential growth. The first shopping center opened in 1991, and additional centers opened in 1999 at Kanan and Lindero Canyon Roads.

Oak Park remains an unincorporated community represented by the Ventura County Board of Supervisors, with local input provided by the Oak Park Municipal Advisory Council.

OPUSD today
Oak Park Unified School District serves a built-out community with stable residential boundaries. The district’s schools have been recognized at the state and national levels for academic performance and student support.