STAR FILE PHOTO Edward Clift, former president of Brooks Institute, poses at the Gardner Building in downtown Ventura.

By Jean Moore of the Ventura County Star

The president of Brooks Institute was ousted this week, and the majority of the board of trustees has resigned.

It's not clear what will happen with plans to move Brooks, a for-profit photography and visual arts school, to downtown Ventura, but they were suddenly put on a 30-day hold in late July.

"We felt this was the best way to step aside, to let the school's management make essential decisions swiftly and decisively in the best interest of the students, faculty and the city of Ventura," Frederick Van Johnson, former chairman of the board, said Wednesday night.

Johnson also confirmed that Edward Clift, who was president of Brooks for only about a year, had been dismissed by the school's owner, Green Planet Inc.

Johnson, who was among the four board members who resigned, did not know the terms of the dismissal or specifically why Clift was fired.

"I would assume it's financial," Johnson said. "I assume there's a myriad of reasons."

Clift declined to comment directly on his dismissal.

Green Planet, which also does business as Gphomestay, bought Brooks last year, as the school continued to struggle with declining enrollment. Brooks, which had 500 students a year ago, plans to enroll about 350 students this fall, Clift said. In 2005, enrollment was 2,563.

Officials had hoped moving downtown would attract more students. The owner of the company is in town this week, Johnson said.

"She's going to try to pull a rabbit out of a hat and make everything work," Johnson said.

Officials from Green Planet did not return phone calls.

While plans for the move downtown are up in the air, classes for the fall semester, which starts Sept. 6, will be held on the existing campus, Johnson said.

Brooks, a for-profit school that now sits just outside Ventura city limits, has been converting several downtown buildings into classrooms, labs and offices.

The move to downtown would benefit both Brooks and the city, said City Councilwoman Cheryl Heitmann.

"We really pride ourselves on being an arts community, and to have an arts college there really rounds out that art scene," Heitmann said. "And honestly, it's good for the economy."

Plans call for Brooks to occupy four buildings in downtown Ventura, including one owned by the city.

Workers are renovating the top two floors of the city's building at 505 Poli St., right behind city hall. That space would hold offices, a conference room, student services and photography studios.

Jim DeArkland is managing owner of the three remaining properties where the school plans to move. Work is about three-quarters complete at two of those properties but hasn't started at the third, DeArkland said.

The Erle Stanley Gardner Building, at 21 S. California St., would house a welcome center, as well as admissions and offices for faculty and administrators, DeArkland said. A property at 101 S. Chestnut would house digital labs, classrooms and a library. Work hasn't started on the third property, at 83 S. Palm St., which would house a film school, he said.

"It's hard to say ultimately what's going to happen," DeArkland said. "But I'm glad to hear there's a possibility they're moving ahead."

Clift, though he will no longer be involved, also hopes the plans move forward.

"The whole downtown movement was to create a more viable campus that students would be interested in," he said. "I think the idea is still solid, and the ownership group is committed to the downtown."