By Steve Hubbell
We believe that the Town Crier has adopted and published in error (Dec. 10 editorial) the impression that the Los Altos Hills Public Education Committee is intending to meet in private.
This is not true. There is no agendized item nor approved discussion to do this.
At the last meeting, a single committee member simply asked if this committee was considered an “ad Hoc” committee. As such, it would not be governed by the various rules under the Brown Act. Lacking clarity on this structural question, this item was assigned to me for research.
As chairman of the Los Altos Hill Public Education Committee, I would like the opportunity to set the record straight as to our goal and our approach to activities. Our committee was formed by the (Los Altos Hills) Town Council to answer one simple question: “What is the best way to bring public education back to our community?” In creating this committee the council went to great pains to make sure that the committee’s members represented the entire town. The south, north and middle sections of Los Altos Hills and all three school districts serving the Hills are represented by our 11 members.
In the few short months since we formed, the committee has been the subject of an unusual amount of attention. This attention has come not only from the press, but also from elected officials and other members of the public, many of whom reside outside of our community. We have done our best to work openly under this unusual pressure, despite our inexperience and with a desire to minimize our impact on the Town’s financial and staff resources. As citizen volunteers, operating under the glare of this extraordinary scrutiny, I am proud of the progress we have made in bringing the facts surrounding this issue to light.
Our community contributes an average of over $13,000 in property and parcel taxes per student to the various school districts that educate our children. Palo Alto Unified, where my children attend, gets $12,616 per student; Los Altos School District, $12,944; and Mt. View/Los Altos High School District, a whopping $20,954. Palo Alto and MVLA are both basic aid districts and therefore receive these funds directly, LASD is anticipating going basic aid shortly, but until then, their monies go to the State before coming back in the form of per pupil funding. The bottom line is that approximately $13 million goes to educate just shy of 1,000 kids. These numbers are expected to change slightly over the next few months as we refine the accuracy of our data We will study the options open to our community under State law, reaching out to the various school districts involved, soliciting input from the Town’s residents and finally, bringing our recommendations to the Town Council for consideration.
Our meetings have been, and will continue to be, open to the public regardless of the type of committee we are. The owners of the private homes, all members of our committee, are aware that the public is invited to all of our meetings. Agendas for our meetings, including the address of the meeting place, are available at least 72 hours in advance at the Los Altos Hills Town Hall.
