Browse archives: 2007 | 2006 | 2005 | 2004 | 2003 | 2002 | 2001 | 2000 | 1999 | 1998 | 1997 | 1996 | 1995

Published on 01/05/1998 All articles from this issue

LASD appoints 35 to facilities planning board

printer friendly version

By Linda Taaffe / Town Crier Staff Writer

Members of the Los Altos School Board of Trustees appointed approximately 35 community members to its Long Range Facilities Planning Committee during the regular board meeting Jan. 5.

Though all committee appointments have not been finalized, members will begin examining the district's revised demographic study next month in order to outline options for the development of the district's facility master plan, said superintendent Marge Gratiot.

"I'm really pleased to see that so many community members have an interest in the school district," said Gratiot, who has been pushing for community involvement in the overall facility plan.

The completed committee will include one parent representative from each of the district's eight schools, all school principals, four representatives from the Los Altos Teacher's Association, one chamber member as well as several other community members.

Gratiot said the committee will meet twice a month until the end of spring to listen to the concerns of individual school committees and to study districtwide issues such as school site configurations, the impact of growing student enrollment, space requirements for the class size reduction program and concerns about aging school buildings.

Gratiot said district school buildings have not been renovated since they were constructed between 40 and 50 years ago.

"The sites are starting to show their age. We need to have them assessed structurally and determine whether the elecrical, gas and water systems are still adequate," she said.

In addition, the district has had to add about 63 portable classrooms to its sites in order to accommodate student population growth, which has reached 3,600, and to reduce all of its kindergarten classes and grades one, two and three to 20 students.

Gratiot said the district hopes to have its facility plan in place by June. She said it will take about one year to put any facility plan into effect.

In that time, the district will "look at every funding source," she said. "We haven't decided if a bond is the way to go."