By Traci Newell

courtesy of Los Altos School District This graphic, designed by Los Altos School District consultant/architect Lisa Gelfand, depicts the Bullis site if the campus housed both Bullis-Purissima and Bullis Charter Schools.

The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees continues to inch closer to a decision on determining a permanent location for Bullis Charter School.

The board will select among three options: placing the campus at Covington Elementary School, Egan Junior High School or as a shared campus at the Bullis-Purissima School site.

“I think we are really being deliberate to make sure we look at every facet of our decision,” Board Vice President Bill Cooper said. “I would rather come up with the decision sooner than later, but it’s important to make an informed decision.”

Superintendent Tim Justus said the board may be running out of questions to ask regarding the issue, and that no option for the placement of the school sticks out in comparison to the others.

Cooper said he thinks the best location is Egan, because it does not put a cap on enrollment and does not require shared use of its multipurpose room and library.

“The Egan location has a lot less impact than any other school housing it at another location,” Cooper said. “It’s the best scenario, with the least negatives.”

Though Cooper shared his opinion on which site he thinks is optimal, he said he is unsure that all board members are on the same page.

“I’m not totally confident that we will end up with a 5-0 vote - which I don’t necessarily see as a bad thing,” he said. “It’s just the way this situation might play out.”

Justus said he asked Bullis Charter School Principal Wanny Hersey what she required from a permanent location for the school, and she said she needed a site that could house 310 students, with two classrooms for each grade.

Justus said Hersey told him the actual location of the charter school is secondary to having a site with appropriate space for her program.

On the other hand, charter school spokesman Marlin Miller said the school has made its opinion clear about where it wants to be situated for three years - the Bullis-Purissima campus. He said he hopes the next step for the Los Altos School District board is to meet with the Bullis Charter School board and discuss how they can share the campus.

“Each option has its pros and cons,” Justus said. “I think one of the big things is making sure each school has the appropriate amount of space it needs.”

Justus said he would like the board to make a decision on where to place the charter school by the LASD board meeting Tuesday. In reality, he said, he doesn’t expect the board to have a final vote on the issue until the Oct. 9 or Oct. 23 meeting.