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Published on 07/21/1999 All articles from this issue

LASD boundaries: Small and equitable schools top priorities

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Report

Small schools and and a diverse student population earned top priorities in the Los Altos School District's plan to reconfigure its internal boundaries during a special meeting held July 12.

Board members suggested student populations at each school be kept under 470. Bullis-Purissima School in Los Altos Hills, which is a smaller facility than other district schools, would be the exception, with 390 students.

Dick Liewer, assistant superintendent of curriculum, said size is key to quality education. He said most studies show that size affects academics, daily attendance and drop-out rates.

"When (enrollment) goes up, you find it exacerbates those problems," Liewer said.

Superintendent Marge Gratiot said under new state recommendations, the district's 10-acre school sites should hold no more than 470 students.

The July 12 meeting was the board of trustees' first study session since the district's Boundary Committee presented members with several possible scenarios for the reconfiguration of district boundaries. The district plans to redistribute student populations when Covington School is reopened as its seventh elementary school in 2001.

Committee members had suggested possible boundary changes based on the following criteria ranked in order of importance: as many children as possible attend their closest school; keep neighborhoods together; avoid having children cross major streets; balance and equity in diverseness of student population; as many children as possible walk to school; avoid problems driving to school; keep boundaries contiguous.

Board members said that in order to keep schools equitable, not all students would be able to attend their closest school. Almond is the closest school for 571 students and Santa Rita closest school for 497 students, according to district reports.

The district also considered walking to school a low-priority item, citing a recent districtwide survey, which indicated that most students commute to school by car even when they live relatively close to the school.

Even after making several on-site visits to various neighborhoods, members continued to grapple with how to shift boundaries and still keep small neighborhoods in tact. They requested that the demographer combine two of the Boundary Committee's scenarios for further study on how to best execute a plan.

"(School) size is number one," said board member Jay Thomas during the meeting. "All else is secondary ... to get as equal as possible, we can't do it geographically unless we randomly assign schools. It's not perfect, but we have to do as much as possible."

The board took no action at the meeting, which was held as a study session for members to discuss the Boundary Committee's recommendations.

The board is scheduled to hold a public forum on the district boundary issue in September before making a final decision.