LAH council seeks public input

To set the record straight regarding Mr. DeMayo’s letter to the editor (July 19), the public education issue in Los Altos Hills has been ongoing since January 2003, when the Los Altos School District (LASD) started the process to close the last public school existing in a Los Altos Hills neighborhood.

There were many public hearings and committees set up to solicit input and to negotiate with the neighboring school districts to develop a workable solution.

Those efforts proved unsuccessful. In addition, the Town Council formed the Public Education Committee (PEC) in September of 2003, to “Determine the level of interest of Town residents to bring public education to Los Altos Hills and to advise the council thereof.”

To say “our council did not solicit public opinion” disallows more than three years and thousands of hours spent by many individuals on this topic and neglects the numerous public hearings and meetings on this subject.

Our town has now formed an ad-hoc Committee on District Reorganization, and we welcome any resident to participate in this current effort. A letter is going out to all LAH residents summarizing the current status of the formation of the ad hoc committee. Communication with the public will be paramount to our public awareness efforts.

Our next step will be a hearing in September of this year with the Santa Clara County committee on reorganization. Interested parties are encouraged to attend.

The Town Council of Los Altos Hills continues to welcome all input on this important topic. We are not conducting our efforts in a vacuum. We want all voters to provide input and ultimately go to the polls to vote their choice for the future of public education.

Dean Warshawsky

Mayor of Los Altos Hills

A long history of being torn

Woody DeMayo writes that LAH residents have been torn apart for three years over the schools issue. As I see it, Los Altos Hills neighborhoods have been torn apart for decades by the loss of Eastbrook, Fremont Hills, and now Bullis-Purissima. (I include Eastbrook because Hills kids attended it, even though it is in unincorporated area.)

When my son attended Bullis-Purissima, he benefited from the emotional growth that came from being woven into the cloth that was his neighborhood’s community. When my kids attended more distant schools, although we did our best to weave ourselves into the cloth of those neighborhoods, it just didn’t work.

Hardly anyone wanted their kids to be friends with mine; it just took too long to get to our house. A parent in our same situation said, “My daughter takes the bus, so I know hardly any of her friends at school.”

Do Los Altos parents know their children’s school friends? Of course they do!

A few years from now, Los Altos Hills kids could attend three thriving public elementary schools, so 40 percent of Hills kids won’t need to resort to attending private schools. Unfortunately, it is financially beneficial for the Los Altos School District and the Palo Alto Unified School District to encourage Hills kids to attend private school.

Teaching fewer town kids is helping the Los Altos district reach Basic Aid status. Teaching fewer town kids helps pay for wonderful programs in Palo Alto schools. So we really need the County Office of Education to fix this dysfunctional relationship by reorganizing Los Altos Hills to be its own elementary district. Until then, the following sad anagram truly fits “Los Altos Hills, California” - As III schools fall, all torn.

Nancy Kelem

Los Altos Hills

Notes from Music for Minors

On behalf of the entire board and staff of Music For Minors, I thank the Los Altos Town Crier staff for the timely article on local non-profits.

It’s amazing to me how many non-profits our community supports, and at the same time how fortunate we are to have them to meet the needs of our community. Across the state, 85 percent of school-based music education programs have been cut in the last five years.

Thirty years ago, when music programs were threatened in Los Altos schools, Music For Minors was formed to fill that void. Now, with an annual budget of just more than $300,000, we offer a comprehensive college-accredited training program and a highly respected music program in elementary schools from South San Jose to Pacifica.

In the 2005-2006 school year, more than 6,000 children (in 46 schools) were served, and for some of these children, we provide the only music program they will ever receive. Our community has grown over the years, as we’ve seen a continuing need to provide a high quality, low cost music program all across the Bay Area.

With our 30th anniversary gala coming up in October, we plan to celebrate our accomplishments, but while the community we serve continues to grow, our goal remains the same - to nurture in children a lifelong love of music.

Janet Kolstad

Board Chairwoman

Music For Minors

Hidden labor behind glamour of Festival

Thank you for the front-page article about the 27th annual Arts and Wine Festival held July 8-9 in the downtown triangle. However, I would like to make a few corrections and add a few facts.

While I appreciate the promotion, I am not the president of the Los Altos Village Association; that distinction belongs to Debra Schlueter of Los Altos Card & Party.

Also, there is one specific individual who should be recognized for an inordinate amount of hours spent organizing the festival, and that is Ellen Biolsi, owner of Cranberry Scoop.

Ellen sacrificed many hours away from her store and family making sure this festival was one of the smoothest-running festivals ever. I would like to publicly thank her for her thoroughness, planning and assistance.

There are three individuals who stayed awake and onsite for 48 hours straight, putting up signs, stocking booths, helping vendors and making sure the festival participants had everything they needed to succeed. These three young men - Matt Bettencourt and Jarrett and Jonathan Fishpaw - also deserve special recognition for their part in making the festival come off without a hitch.

Finally, the Los Altos Village Association would like to thank all the downtown merchants and business owners and their employees who graciously served and helped the patrons of the festival. We understand that this weekend is disruptive to your normal routine and greatly appreciate your understanding and cooperation.

Nancy Dunaway

Executive Director

Los Altos Village Association

Everyone can help alleviate air pollution

So far this summer, the Bay Area Air Quality Management District has issued an unprecedented number of “Spare the Air” days as a result of elevated smog levels.

Many Bay Area residents have done their share of reducing the level of smog by using public transportation during these days. This is critically important to help make breathing easier for the thousands of people who are vulnerable to elevated smog levels during hot summer days, especially those with asthma. In the Bay Area alone, close to half a million men, women and children are affected by this lung disease.

Everyone in the community can help reduce air pollution by finding alternatives to smog-producing, gas-powered vehicles. We can switch to low- or zero-emission vehicles, ride bikes or walk, carpool and take mass transit as often as possible, especially on Spare the Air days when air pollution reaches critical levels.

Air pollution is a public health issue, and we can all do our part to reduce it.

For more information, visit www.californialung.org.

Karen Fulton Holine

American Lung Association

of California

Emeryville