Music supporters ask help toward organ

Tatiana Granoff

The Town Crier’s wonderful article on the Los Altos High School Choral Music Program (July 13) mentions that Main Street Singers’ alumni and friends are raising funds to purchase an organ for the Eagle Theater. The theater does have a grand piano, but adding an organ will expand considerably the repertoire of this remarkable vocal music program.

The instrument under consideration is a compact chest organ, easily moved between the theater and choir rehearsal room for maximum benefit to the music curriculum.

As it will be called the Virginia Hebel Memorial Organ, we have chosen a very high quality instrument; only the best deserves her name on it!

We are two-thirds of the way, but still need to raise another $15,000 to make this purchase. We welcome donations from the community. Please make checks payable to the Los Altos Community Foundation, note “Surprise Shaull” on the memo line (this is no longer a surprise but that is the name of the account at LACF), and mail your check to Tatiana Granoff, 440 Cherry Ave., Los Altos 94022. Inquiries are welcomed at tgranoff@aol.com. Thank you for supporting a community treasure.

LAH should not assist BCS exclusively

Katie Roper

The Los Altos Hills City Council wants to give $2.5 million in publicly-owned assets to purchase land to house the Bullis Charter School. According to the Town Crier’s July 13 article, there are 74 children from Los Altos Hills who attend the charter school.

This works out to $33,783 per child in a handout from the city to the wealthiest public school in the community.

If the council wants to build a community for these 74 children, why not just buy each kid a horse for $24,000 apiece? Then they could build a strong community around the currently underutilized city riding ring and save the taxpayers $740,000.

There are 1,000 school-age children in Los Altos Hills. If the city wants to support public education for its children, take the money and divide it proportionally among the education foundations for the Palo Alto Unified School District, Los Altos School District and the Bullis Charter School.

If the town wants to purchase land as an investment in the future of our children, turn half the Purissima property into a community center for art, music and dance classes for children and the other half into a soccer field. That way we benefit the 926 children who don’t attend the charter school, as well as the 74 who do.

Supporting only children who attend the charter school, to the tune of $34,000 per child, is unfair.

United on public education

Shari Emling

I found your July 20 editorial most interesting.

You contend that with the small percentage of grade school children in Los Altos Hills (in comparison with the total population) money could be better spent “providing services for all residents - pathways maintenance, road repairs, sewers and the like” rather than putting that money towards public education in town.

As the ratio of school children is approximately the same in Los Altos Hills as it is in Los Altos and Mountain View, I think I’ll remind you of those words when the next request is made by the Los Altos School District for a tax override. What’s that old saying? Oh yes … “Be careful what you wish for.”

The refusal by the district to return a school to Los Altos Hills has now run the gamut from stubborn, to unreasonable to bizarre.

One need only realize that the district will now put several classes of “all-day kindergarten” at Bullis, to understand the “no Los Altos Hills school at any cost” mentality of Los Altos School District.

Perhaps the new superintendent, Tim Justus, will bring a level hand (and an equally level head) to this fiasco.

If Bullis is good enough for special education, good enough for private day-care providers, and good enough for several classes of “all day” kindergarten, where is the argument that it isn’t good enough to open as a Los Altos Hills public school? (I remind you that a charter school IS a public school.)

Bullis was put last on the list for renovation, and the “money ran out.”

I’m still trying to get the district to disclose how much over budget the district offices were.

Los Altos Hills has fewer voters, but we are united voters - and the Los Altos School District will be coming to us asking for money soon enough.

Any bets on what our answer will be?

Five solutions for downtown

Myra Orta

We are fortunate to live in a friendly, safe community, but could do better with our downtown village.

The farmer’s market, summer outdoor movies, kid’s window painting, wine tasting events and festivals all help bring people to town and create a feeling of pride, but we could do better.

I propose permanent changes to attract more teens and young adults to patronize our shops and restaurants.

1. More restaurants and outdoor cafes open seven days a week until midnight.

2. More craft shops and boutiques open seven days a week until 9 p.m., and fewer hair and nail salons.

3. A movie theater, offering three to four movies with ample parking and outdoor cafes near the theater.

4. Two public parking garages, at opposite ends of town.

5. Close off Main Street to vehicles, pave with brick walkways, and fill with flower boxes and outdoor benches, surrounded by cafes, restaurants and shops.

How about that for a revitalized downtown?