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Published on 05/12/1999 All articles from this issue

Boundary discussions still in preliminary stages, schools chief says

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Town Crier Staff Report

The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees was scheduled to take its first look at some preliminary scenarios for the reconfiguration of its school boundaries Monday night during a presentation by the boundary committee.

Superintendent Marge Gratiot said the purpose of the meeting was for the committee to present to the board a progress report. She said the boundaries issue is still in its preliminary stage, and there will be many more scheduled times for public input.

"I'd be surprised if we decide (on boundaries) before next fall," Gratiot said. "It's not as if there's an urgency to make a decision."

She added, "I would like to get this issue settled as soon as we can do it right, so parents don't have to keep worrying about any uncertainties."

The district formed a boundaries committee in January to formulate a plan that would redistribute student populations when Covington School is reopened as the district's seventh elementary school in 2001.

Committee members have been working in about five small groups to come up with possible ways to divide school boundaries according to the following criteria, ranked in order of importance: as many children as possible attend their closest school; keep neighborhoods together; avoid crossing major streets; keep diversity of student population balanced; allow as many children as possible to walk to school; avoid potential traffic problems; keep boundaries contiguous.

Boundary discussions have piqued parent concerns about daily commutes and the impact on school programs over recent months, as committee members have wrestled with ways to best divide up the district.

School officials say boundary changes are key to keeping student population below 500 at each school and to maintain the quality of its academic programs.

"That can't happen if every child goes to his or her closest school. We'll end up with some schools with over 600 students," Gratiot said. "The reason we passed a bond is to have small schools."

Gratiot said committee members are in agreement with about 90 percent of the boundary areas.

She said there has been less consensus in deciding where the line should go between Almond and Covington schools; Almond and Springer schools; Bullis-Purissima and Santa Rita schools; and where to divide the Los Altos Hills students between Bullis-Purissima, Covington and Loyola schools.