By Lauren McSherry
The Los Altos City Council remained firm on its stance not to get involved in a legal dispute between Los Altos Hills and the Los Altos School District last week when the issue came up at a joint council meeting.
The Hills council appeared to be leveraging redistricting as a political maneuver to gain Los Altos support during the May 3 meeting, but the Los Altos council would not budge. Redistricting would mean redrawing school boundaries so the Hills would no longer be divided between two school districts. Currently, both the Palo Alto Unified School District and the Los Altos School District serve Hills children.
Los Altos Hills is suing the school district in an effort to bring public education back to the city after Bullis-Purissima School closed.
Bullis was the only public school remaining in the city.
Los Altos earlier this year rejected a request from the Hills council to support their position in the form of a resolution.
Los Altos Councilman Ron Packard said he did not condemn the Los Altos Hills council for taking a stand on something close to them. “But I was hoping you would understand our position. … It’s not our mandate. … Our plates are full.”
Hills Councilman Jean Mordo responded forcefully, saying the council had hoped for Los Altos’ “moral support.”
“The Los Altos School District has always underestimated the determination of the people of Los Altos Hills to have a public school,” he said. “(The district) will tell you it’s never going to happen. Well, watch out. I’ve seen the tide coming.”
Mordo encouraged the Los Altos council to “try to get the school district to change its attitude before it’s too late.”
Los Altos Councilman John Moss said he personally believes the Hills should have its own public school, but that redistricting would hurt the school district.
In previous months, redistricting was discounted as an unviable option. An independent telephone survey by Godbe Research last fall found insufficient support for it in the Hills.
Redistricting would require a ballot measure passed by two-thirds voter support.
