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• 3. Presentations from the Floor 4. Consideration of request from Los Altos Hills Public Education Committee that the City Council consider adopting a resolution, pursuant to Education Code section 35721, requesting that the appropriate County Committee consider reorganization of certain specified area within Los Altos Hills from Los Altos School District and the Mountain View/ Los Altos High School District to the Palo Alto Unified School District. Public Education Committee Chair Steve Hubbell summarized the Committee's actions to investigate the options of public education in the Hills. They had collected data via a Town wide survey and conducted three community meetings. The Committee concluded that 80% of survey respondents stated they wanted a neighborhood school. The Committee defined "neighborhood school" as one in Town. The Committee found that 75% of respondents felt the Council should take action to bring public education to the Town and Hubbell believes this action is supported by the Town's General Plan. At this time, a major concern of the Committee is that the option of the Bullis School site will be lost if it is leased by the Los Altos School District to a tenant with a long term lease. Hubbell explained that this concern was what motivated their request for tonight's Special Meeting. Hubbell reported that yesterday, the Public Education Committee, represented by Duncan • MacMillan and Steve Hubbell with Committee liaison Councilmember Kerr, had met with the Palo Alto Unified School District. The District representatives included the Property Subcommittee, District Board Members and the Superintendent and Deputy Superintendent. The meeting had also been attended by the public which included representatives of the Los Altos School District. Hubbell reviewed the Powerpoint presentation that was presented at the meeting with Council. Highlights included: Los Altos Hills is a unique community within the peninsula with no public school, downtown business area, community center or other attributes to foster community interaction; schools are vital to a community; all four elementary schools in the Town have been closed and yet Palo Alto Unified School District and Los Altos School District provide neighborhood schools in their towns; the Hills has become a `real estate investment trust' for the school districts-Pinewood School pays $950,000 per year to lease the Fremont Hills school site and Bullis rental income is expected to be $360,000 per year; our students are divided between two districts and economies of scale do not support establishing and maintaining elementary schools in Los Altos Hills; the Town survey indicates that residents desire change and support it; redistricting the Town to be included in the Palo Alto School District would provide an economy of scale; redistricting of the Covington area is favored by residents but Hubbell noted that it is unclear what the residents in the southern part of Town want at this time. Hubbell explained that any reorganization of the Town should include a Memorandum of Understanding that would ensure a school in Town. He reviewed the school enrollments with Council and property tax revenues that are generated by the Town to the school districts. There are • approximately 1500 elementary aged children in Town(K-12)with 943 enrolled in public 2 City Council Special Meeting Minutes May 12,2004