Concern over district's well-being prompts Casas to issue statement

By Linda Taaffe, Town Crier Staff Writer

David Casas, currently serving as mayor of Los Altos, is asking residents to withhold their votes for former Mayor Francis La Poll in the Los Altos School District Board race this fall.

In a letter to the editor in today’s Town Crier (Page 9), Casas, as a private citizen, asked residents to “seriously consider other candidates who genuinely have the well-being of the Los Altos School District foremost in their mind.”

Casas served on the Los Altos School District board before becoming mayor.

La Poll, an attorney at Gilfix and La Poll Associates and one of eight candidates running for a seat on the school board, has been a vocal proponent and is a board member of the Bullis Charter School that sued the school district last September demanding use of the former Bullis-Purissima campus. The district closed the campus as a public school in 2003. Bullis-Purissima was the last public school in Los Altos Hills.

The campus remains closed as an elementary school. All remaining district schools are located in Los Altos.

“(La Poll) has been unyielding in his support of costly litigation against the very district he now wants to manage,” Casas wrote. “During this time, the district has had to spend $200,000 defending itself against a lawsuit his Bullis Charter School Board initiated. In short, his support of this litigation has diverted precious dollars away from the genuine educational needs of our children.”

La Poll called Casas’ comments inappropriate and divisive.

“He is stuck in the past fighting old battles. As a two-term mayor and councilmember myself - and 10-year school district parent - with an unmatched council record of working with and for the schools and our children, I respectfully suggest that we focus on cooperation. Let us move forward, not backward, committed to a united community supporting our children, their teachers and parents,” he said.

Casas said he did not write the letter to be malicious, nor does he think La Poll is a bad person.

“I feel I need to clearly communicate my concerns,” he said. Just because a person serves successfully on one political board does not guarantee that the person is qualified to serve on another board, added Casas.

“My concern is voters may not realize the true impact of his previous involvement that runs opposite to the district’s interests,” he said.

“As a community, we need to ensure our district is protected from the predetermined self-interest of any one candidacy.” While Casas’ statement may appear unusual, it is not in violation of council policy because he was speaking as a resident, not the mayor.

City Clerk Susan Kitchens said councilmembers may express their personal opinions under the First Amendment.