By Sara Ballenger
It was standing room only at the Los Altos School District’s board meeting, Nov. 12, as the district’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee for Finance presented its six-year financial plan. Scenarios inolving the closure of an exisiting elementary school campus or campuses were included. No action was taken or decision made at the meeting.
The volunteer committee, composed of community members and leaders, has been working with the district to develop a 6-year financial plan, using the 2001/02 educational program as its baseline.
The committee presented its scenarios with the following built-in assumptions: there will be no further increase in the parcel tax, after the $333 increase approved in the Nov. 5 election; an average of five teachers will retire from the district each year; a minimal increase in state funding; countinued funding at “historic” levels by the Parent Teacher’s Associations; continued funding by the Los Altos Educational Foundation an average of $800,000 per year, continued class-size reduction in grades K-3; a 6 percent budget reserve by 2008-09; and the district will become a Basic Aid District during the 2004-05 school year.
A separate subcommitee looked into the possibility of renting out any of the district’s unused campuses. According to their report, a rental consultant is confident it would be easy to lease any of the campuses to a single tenant. The report also states that in order for a lease to be economically viable, it would have to be for a minimum of 20 years, with the possibility of an early release clause in 10-12 years.
For the purpose of its projections, the committee assumed leasing out a 20,000-square-foot facility at a rate of $1.50 per square foot, with the estimate the rental income would begin in the middle of the 2003-04 fiscal year.
If the district were to open its seventh elementary campus as a school, the incremental site cost would be $450,000 plus an additional $1,000, said Randy Kenyon, the assistant superintendent of business services.
The committee described the educational program for the district under each scenario asfollows:
Scenario A:
This scenario is based on the district’s current configuration of six elementary and two jr. high school campuses, with district’s seventh campus will be leased for the long term. This scenario includes income fromt the projected Basic Aid money from the state and rental income from one vacant campus. It allows for a slight reduction in class size from the baseline, from 28 students to 27 in grades 4-6, will restore library aides, classroom cleadning and provides a six percent reserve in 2008-09. Assuming school boundaries were adjusted properly, each campus would have 500 students.
Scenario B:
This scenario assumes the opening of a seventh elementary campus, with no rental income and $450,000 incremental site costs and another $100,000 in cost of district support and that the district becomes Basic Aid. Class size reduction in grades K-3 will be maintained, though an increased class size in grades 4-6 will go to 31 students and grades 7-8 will go to 29 students. School size would vary and there would be $900,000 in program cuts.
In discussing the scenarios presented by the committee, a third scenario was brought to the table of having the unused campus as a camp school, which would allow the next three schools in line for renovation according to the Revised Facilities Master Plan, Santa Rita, Oak Avenue and Loyola, move ahead with renovation plans, according to the district.
The district’s Construction Oversight Committee and the CACF met regarding the renovation of the three school sites, and reported its findings to the board at its Nov. 18 meeting, after the Town Crier press deadline. Look for a follow-up in our Nov. 27 issue.
The board hopes to approve the district’s six-year financial plan at its meeting Dec. 9, which includes: maintaining a balanced budget for six years with no parcel tax increase, targeting Basic Aid and other state funding and assesses the impact and the timing of opening a seventh elementary campus.
The district is looking for feedback from the community on the 6-year financial plan. Send letters to the District Office, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, CA 94024 or e-mail
The Dec. 9 board meeting is scheduled 7 p.m., at the Blach Camp School, Room 9, 1120 Covington Road. For more information, call the district office at 941-4010.
