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Superintendent Justus introduced Principal Gilbert. He summarized her recent experience at Sunnyvale's Blue Ribbon School-Cherry Chase Elementary. Ms. Gilbert thanked the Council. She spoke of her great staff and their excitement to be working at Gardner Bullis. Gilbert noted that her mission was to create an environment at the campus that would allow the students to grow both educationally and socially and added that community support was a critical component for success. Gilbert thanked the Council for consideration of the teachers' wish list and their recent donation that had been used for furnishings for the multi-purpose room. Gilbert introduced staff member Sara Wiacek. Ms. Wiacek commented that she and the Gardner Bullis teachers were very enthusiastic to be teaching in the Los Altos Hills community and were looking forward to the school year. Mayor Mordo spoke to his recent visit to the new campus. He was impressed by the staff and level of energy at the campus. He was confident the new Gardner Bullis would rise to the level of excellence of the former Bullis-Purissima and be known as an excellent school. Mordo acknowledged Council's efforts to return a public school to Los Altos Hills and hoped that the frictions that had developed during that time could be put to rest and everyone move forward. He commented on Council's previous funding to Bullis and Bullis Charter School of approximately $13,000 each. At that time, Council determined • it would be appropriate to revisit the discussion after Gardner Bullis opened and the teachers had an opportunity to assess their needs. Agenda Item 1B had been placed on the agenda following an informal discussion at the last Council meeting to address the Unfinished Business, however, Mordo suggested that there were several underlying issues that he believed needed to be resolved before he would be comfortable considering the additional funding. He reiterated that he and the Council were thrilled to have the re- opened campus in Town. Council requested an update on the District's plans for the Bullis playing fields. Gilbert explained that the students were currently using the blacktop area for recess play time. In response to an earlier question regarding student population, Gilbert reported that the school enrollment was 203 students of which 97 were from Los Altos Hills and 7 of those were from the Palo Alto Unified School District. Justus offered that the grass fields were in poor condition and only supervised play was permitted in that area. They were in the process of securing bids for improvements. Justus reviewed the District's plans which were currently under review by the LASD Board for a possible parcel tax and bond measure in the future and the proposed projects for Phase II funding. Councilmember Jones acknowledged that it was great to hear the enthusiasm from students and teachers for the Gardner Bullis School. He noted that he had been very vocal in his opposition to the closure of Bullis and commended the school district for their efforts to re-open the school which he considered a vital resource for residents of the Town. 2 City Council Regular Meeting Minutes September 11,2008