Laserfiche WebLink
residents of the Town; and 3) to accept the Superintendent's offer to meet with the <br /> Standing Public Education Committee for an open dialogue on the issue of Public <br /> Education in Los Altos Hills. <br /> MOTION SECONDED AND CARRIED: Moved by Jones, seconded by Warshawsky <br /> and passed unanimously to approve a communication from Mayor Kerr (co-drafted by <br /> Councilmember Jones and Mayor Kerr) to Superintendent Tim Justus that would include <br /> the content points as defined by Councilmember Jones. <br /> Councilmember Jones, Council liaison to the Public Education Committee, introduced <br /> Public Education Committee Chair Duncan MacMillan to report out to Council on their <br /> recent efforts. <br /> Duncan MacMillan reported the Committee had been exploring the possibility of a Town <br /> wide solution to return public education to the Hills. He proceeded with a PowerPoint <br /> presentation titled"Proposal for a joint school/charter. <br /> MacMillan explained the return of public education as defined by the Committee would <br /> require the inclusion of the following components: neighborhood elementary school/s; <br /> attendance — area based (geographically based); Los Altos Hills residents would have <br /> priority in attendance; consideration of Palo Alto Unified School District and Los Altos <br /> School District enrollment; and a predictable and routine attendance. <br /> • He reviewed the Public Education Committee's issues with the most current Los Altos <br /> School District's "plans". MacMillan offered the District's proposal was "too little-too <br /> late" noting the 2008 start date and the lack of consideration of the Palo Alto Unified <br /> School District portion of the Town. <br /> MacMillan reviewed alternative scenarios that included: the Town reorganize into the <br /> Palo Alto Unified School District; Los Altos Hills forming its own K-8 or K-12 district; <br /> or,the existing Districts working together to open a joint school/charter. <br /> MacMillan noted that the Districts had been more responsive than previously to the <br /> Committee's requests for data including enrollment information. The Committee's <br /> findings supported the premise that current student enrollment justified a school in Los <br /> Altos Hills and the revenue stream from Los Altos Hills was substantial. He reviewed the <br /> enrollment numbers and financial data with Council that included property and parcel tax <br /> information and the dollars per Los Altos Hills students that went to each district. <br /> The Committee suggested that a solution that had a "piece-meal" approach by one of the <br /> Town's existing districts or allowed attendance to be open to an entire existing district <br /> was not a viable resolution to the issue. Committee consensus also supported that for the <br /> solution to be acceptable, Bullis Charter School be recognized as an asset to Los Altos <br /> Hills. MacMillan explained the Committee's reasons for the inclusion of the Bullis <br /> Charter School as a critical component in a solution was that it provided curriculum <br /> flexibility; preserved the number one performing charter school and number twelve <br /> • performing elementary school in the State; rewarded sweat and cash equity from the <br /> 6 <br /> City Council Meeting Minutes <br /> January 26,2006 <br />