More than 50 people addressed the Los Altos School District board last week during a final public hearing to choose a site for the Bullis Charter School.
So many people were in attendance that the March 1 meeting had to be held in the Almond School multipurpose room instead of the board room on Covington Road.
Superintendent Marge Gratiot said the board must offer the charter group facilities that are “reasonably equivalent” in capacity and condition to the district’s schools. She said the district’s attorney has concluded that the board cannot waive Proposition 39 requirements “even at the charter school’s request.” Although the charter group has offered to rent space from the district, Proposition 39 prohibits the district from charging rent, she said.
Secondary considerations in choosing a site are traffic, the likely effects on the social climate of any school that might share its campus, and the charter school’s uncertain first-year and future enrollment.
Gratiot reminded the board that “any actual provision of facilities is contingent upon verification of enrollment projections by the charter school and completion of its Memorandum of Understanding with the Santa Clara County Office of Education.”
Evans reiterated the charter group’s willingness to take the former Bullis-Purissima School site “as is,” saying that the group believes it can do so either within or outside of the requirements of Proposition 39. However, despite the offer to forgo renovations, the charter school’s Web site lists improvements the group considers necessary before classes can begin. The offer was first made Feb. 4 in a letter from Evans to Duane Roberts and Victor Reid, the former and current board presidents, respectively.
Chris Vargas of the Bullis Charter School board presented a letter from Carl Cahill, planning director for the City of Los Altos Hills, stating that town ordinances prohibit commercial daycare facilities from being established as primary, accessory or conditional uses on the former Bullis-Purissima site. Proposition 39 states that special education classes are the first use that must be considered for a surplus school site. If no special ed classes need the facility, then a school district is to rent space in the school to a daycare provider before finding any other use for the site.
Nineteen speakers asked the board to place the charter school at the Bullis site, 14 preferred Egan camp school, and one preferred Covington School. Ten people asked the trustees not to co-locate the charter school at Covington, six asked them not to choose Bullis, and three asked them not to put the charter at Egan camp school. One speaker who did not specify a preference said that co-location can work “fantastically, as in Cupertino” but that its success depends on the emotional climate created in the school. Several speakers thanked the trustees for the effort they have put into choosing a site and said they trust them to make the right decision; three of these speakers stated no preference.
The many teachers who spoke favored Egan camp school. In addition, Amanda Terry told the board that the Los Altos Teachers Association, of which she is president, prefers Egan but trusts the board to make a good decision.
Reid said that although the board will not hear any more comments in a public meeting, the community can e-mail comments to the district until the March 15 meeting, at which the board will make its decision. That decision will be delivered to the charter group by April 1, he said.
