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Published on 09/29/1999 All articles from this issue

Small and equitable schools is goal of new boundaries, LASD officals say

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By Linda Taaffe

Town Crier Staff Writer

Proposed boundary changes school by school

Maintaining small and equitable schools took precedence over keeping neighborhoods intact in the Los Altos School District's latest proposal to redistribute its student population.

The proposal drew a mixed reaction at the Sept. 21 board meeting with some parents praising the plan and others criticizing it for dividing their neighborhoods.

The proposal draws boundaries along major streets and places children in their first or second-closest schools. Under the proposed scenario, about 485 students would move to new elementary schools in fall 2001 when Covington is reopened as the district's seventh elementary school.

The proposed boundary changes would leave the attendance areas at Bullis and Oak schools unchanged. Portions of the current Springer, Loyola, Almond and Santa Rita school boundaries would form the Covington boundary, with the largest population - 230 students - coming from Springer School and the smallest population - 5 students - coming from Santa Rita School. In addition, some Springer students would move to Almond and some Almond students would move to Springer. All students could attend the junior high of their choice.

The plan drew the most criticism from parents living in the eastern boundary of Almond School near Todd and Hollingsworth, who would move to the Springer boundary if the plan is approved.

One Almond parent called the district's proposal "illogical. You're taking kids out of the place where they live, walk, go to school ... The (proposed) boundary is inappropriate and will divide our neighborhood."

Almond parents also expressed concern about commuting to school, saying their children would no longer be able to walk or bike to school if moved from Almond.

Other Almond parents questioned why 45 children from The Crossings subdivision in Mountain View would move to the school, forcing current Almond students to move. Some parents urged the district to keep Almond School larger and keep its surrounding neighborhoods intact.

Board members said the boundary changes are key to keeping student populations down and to maintain the quality of its academic programs. They considered walking to school a low-priority item, citing a recent district-wide survey, which indicated that most students commute to school by car, even when they live relatively close to the school.

Board members agreed that making a final decision will not be easy, but that decision will be based on maintaining quality education.

"Change will be difficult, but it will come," said board member Gerri Carlton. "We have studied and studied and studied these maps. I don't see how to make this equitable and make everyone happy. There will always be some people not happy."

The district formed a boundary committee at the start of this year to formulate a plan that would redistribute student populations to under 500 students at each elementary school when Covington School is reopened as the district's seventh K-6 school in Fall 2001.

The board developed the potential scenario based on the following criteria: have as many children as possible attend their closest school; keep neighborhoods together; avoid crossing busy intersections; keep diverseness of student populations balanced; allow as many children as possible to walk to school; avoid potential traffic problems; and keep boundaries contiguous.

The board is scheduled to make a final decision Oct. 18.