By Breene Kerr

As a parent with five school age children in four different schools, I have had an excellent opportunity to observe the performance of many of our local schools.

Over the last several decades, as California has slipped to near the bottom in national rankings of per pupil funding and academic achievement, the Los Altos School District has managed to distinguish itself, rising to at or near the top of schools in this generally poorly performing group. It has done so because of the quality of its students, the excellence of their teachers, above average parental involvement, a sound curriculum and sustained, generous financial support from the community.

This has been a cooperative effort, and I think it is fair to say that the Los Altos Hills residents living within the district have done their fair share and more. Despite this history of support, for LAEF, for SOS, for various bond measures and parcel taxes, our community concerns have been ignored. Instead of our last local school being rebuilt as promised, it is now slated for closure.

Unfortunately, the town of Los Altos Hills is unnaturally split into two school districts, with a large number of our residents in the Palo Alto School District. This exacerbates our minority status in both districts’ political processes. The ultimate result of this lack of political clout is that, as of next year, Los Altos Hills will apparently be the only town on the Peninsula without a single public school within its borders.

At the same time, we currently have two large private schools in town, with a third likely coming to the (former) Bullis site and a fourth within our sphere of influence at the former Eastbrook site. This imbalance (4 to 0) of private vs. public schools is remarkable, given our residents’ strong support of the public school system.

In order to provide one public school, locally controlled and available to all our town’s residents, a well-organized, talented and enthusiastic group has taken matters into their own hands.

In forming the Bullis Charter School initiative, they have acted in accordance with state law and in the interest of providing all the town’s children with the option of a small neighborhood school, without regard to their parents’ financial circumstances. The District’s plan, which converts Bullis into a private school, will only add to the steady stream of children leaving California’s public school system. As this trend (of converting public schools to private) plays itself out across the state, political support for our public schools is eroded. At the same time, wealthy parent donors and high-achieving students are siphoned off to private institutions.

I find it curious that the district and their many supporters have chosen to vilify those who have stood up in support of public education in our town. Remember, a charter school is a public school, tuition free and open to all children in the district. Considering the long history of generous support in our town for community institutions, it is likely to be well run, well financed and well positioned to deliver academic excellence. I consider this a superior proposition to the addition of one more private educational institution for the Peninsula’s well-to-do.