05/05/2005 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Duncan MacMillan, Public Education Committee, thanked Council and offered that he was before Council to present a report from the Committee titled "Los Altos Hills Public Education Committee Update and Recommendations May 5, 2005". MacMillan presented a PowerPoint presentation of the report. He explained that the Committee was recommending that the City Council support: 1) citizen actions to reorganize Los Altos Hills into a separate school district or a greater part of Los Altos Hills transferring to the Palo Alto Unified School District; 2) continuing efforts to locate the Bullis Charter School within Town boundaries; and 3) continuing legal efforts to protect the Town's zoning rights. Highlights of the presentation included: the Committee's recommendations, options reviewed by the Committee and the reasons for removing them from consideration,recent actions of the Los Altos School District regarding the Bullis site and a matrix of all options reviewed by the Committee including the pluses and minuses of each, mitigation and the Committee's position. Appended to the report was the presentation that had been made at the Joint Council meeting on May 3, 2005. Mayor Pro Tem Kerr questioned whether the Committee had considered a K-8 that would retain the current High School boundaries. MacMillan explained that this option had not been reviewed but the Committee would investigate. He believed that students would have to all attend one High School district. OPENED PUBLIC COMMENT • John Radford, La Paloma Road, suggested that it would be appropriate to revisit the issue of the Bullis School site with the new Superintendent of the Los Altos School District. Radford noted that Egan, without the portables that house the Bullis Charter School, would afford extra playing fields. CLOSED PUBLIC COMMENT Mayor O'Malley thanked the Committee for their report. Councilmember Jones noted that the Public Education Committee had performed a great public service to the Town by investigating all of the options to return public education to the Town. He concurred with their recommendations and explained that they had essentially completed their charter with the delivery of tonight's report and should be directed by Council with additional charges, possibly the review of citizen group proposals. Jones added that it was important to reiterate and for Council to remember, that the Committee had recommended by a unanimous vote for Council to continue their efforts to return the Charter School to Los Altos Hills; to continue the efforts to enforce the Town's zoning laws; and to find a structural solution to a structural problem of the Town being divided into two different school districts. Jones also supported engaging the new Superintendent in discussions on the issue as soon as possible and suggested that the Public Education Committee make a formal presentation. • 8 City Council Meeting Minutes May 5,2005