O’Keefe needs constructive approach
I read the article describing the opposition by some Los Altos Hills residents to exploring O’Keefe Preserve as part of meeting state mandates to increase affordable housing. I can’t comment on the merits of these claims because I don’t know the details. However, the opposition follows a familiar pattern.
Across the region, housing proposals often trigger organized resistance, accusations of impropriety, threats of litigation and even personal attacks on local officials – typically from residents who voice support for more housing in theory. Similar dynamics in other communities, including Portola Valley, have contributed to prolonged city government turmoil and costly legal disputes.
If Los Altos Hills residents continue to block every attempt to produce required affordable housing, the likely outcome is not preservation of the status quo, but the loss of local control. Menlo Park, after delays in state housing mandate compliance, is now dealing with the consequence. They are grappling with a proposed builder’s remedy project that includes mixed-use towers approaching 450 feet adjacent to single-family home neighborhoods.
I hope our town can work in a constructive way towards a solution that balances state-mandated housing requirements with local values and interests.
Mike Salameh
Los Altos LASD lacks transparency
I am a parent at Santa Rita Elementary and I am writing because families at our school are deeply concerned and increasingly alarmed by the lack of transparent engagement from the Los Altos School District.
Over the past year, parents have repeatedly raised serious, unresolved issues involving student safety, supervision, staffing gaps, special education supports, facilities and resourcing. These are not isolated complaints. They are systemic problems that directly affect the safety and learning of our children.
Rather than addressing these concerns through open, community‑wide dialogue, the district and board have emphasized one‑on‑one meetings as the primary response. While individual conversations may be appropriate for student‑specific matters, they are not sufficient for addressing systemic failures. Providing information privately fractures understanding, limits accountability and undermines trust.
Parents are now sharing and comparing communications from the board and district. Seen together, these messages feel less like genuine engagement and more like an effort to manage concerns quietly in hopes that we will stop asking for the supports we need and deserve.
Community meetings are not about confidential student information. They are about transparency, discussing data, priorities, timelines and accountability in a shared public forum. Families should not have to rely on public comment and escalation to get attention or resources.
The Los Altos School Board exists to serve the community. Santa Rita families urgently need open engagement, clear accountability and immediate action.
Jessica Mullen
Santa Rita Parent, Los Altos
