By Kathleen Acuff

When a Superior Court judge issued a summary order Sept. 9 dismissing Bullis Charter School’s yearlong lawsuit against the Los Altos School District, a spokesman for the charter school called the ruling “just one more episode in a very long saga.”

As foreshadowed, the school’s directors filed notice Oct. 21 of their intent to request a new trial against the district and the lessees of the two preschools at the Bullis-Purissima Elementary School site.

The notice of intent states that the charter school’s attorneys have new evidence to present. It also contends that the first trial was unfair, the judge abused his discretion and proceedings included “accident or surprise, which ordinary prudence could not have guarded against.”

Judge Leslie C. Nichols, who dismissed the case filed Sept. 30, 2004, will hear the request. The school’s attorneys had until Monday to serve papers; they had not done so at press time.

Randy Kenyon, assistant superintendent for business services,said last week that a new trial would be allowed only if the charter school presents new evidence, shows that the first trial proceeded improperly or proves that the judge made an error of law.

“We don’t know what they will base their motion on but suspect it has to be new evidence, as the other categories don’t seem at all applicable,” Kenyon said.

Charter school spokesman Marlin Miller said, “This could be part of a long process that could include appeals … as this is a complex matter. … We still believe we have a strong case and that all of the pertinent facts should be heard by the court.”

Despite the Sept. 9 summary judgment, directors of the school maintain that the district failed to provide facilities that meet the “reasonable equivalency” standard of Proposition 39.

In a written response to the ruling, they vowed to pursue litigation “to ensure that LASD’s obligations under state law to provide ‘reasonably equivalent’ facilities are followed.”