By Traci Newell
The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees voted 3-2 Oct. 9 not to place Bullis Charter School at any K-6 LASD school site where sharing of facilities, such as a library and a multipurpose room, would be necessary. No alternate site was chosen.
The board decision noted that sharing a campus would pose too many problems, including equity between the schools, jeopardizing school cultures, restricting school identities, traffic, access and overall safety.
While the district did not vote on where to place the charter school permanently, Superintendent Tim Justus recommended that of the options, Egan Junior High was most desirable.
The decision follows six months of discussions and studies of three possible sites for the charter school: Egan and Covington and Bullis-Purissima elementary schools. The most expensive alternative, $8.6 million, involves locating the charter school permanently at Egan.
Several community members addressed the standing-room-only board room, raising concerns about placing the charter school at any of the three sites.
“Equity used to be important,” said Francis La Poll, Bullis Charter School Board member and former Los Altos City Councilman. “I hope it still is. Is Egan going to be comparable to Blach with a shared site?”
Justus said he wants to make sure the community re-
alizes that the board has not made a decision yet on where to place the charter school permanently.
“In our board everybody agrees the Egan site is just not the perfect place,” Justus said.
Board Vice President Bill Cooper said hearing from the community and other board members was enlightening.
“I’m even more sensitive to the impact of housing the Bullis Charter School at the Egan site,” Cooper said. “I appreciated all the comments regarding the Egan site in regard to traffic safety. I want to make sure the district is working with the appropriate parties to make sure that is under control.”
David Pefley, board member and Los Altos Hills resident, said that though he knows Bullis Charter School families want the Bullis-Purissima location, the site has proven to be a poor candidate for school sharing.
Pefley said that within the former Bullis neighborhood attendance boundary there are more K-6 students in LASD schools than in the charter school. He said that it is “fair” to open an LASD neighborhood school there.
“Although almost half of Bullis Charter School students are Los Altos Hills residents, an LASD school will allow an even higher percentage and number of Los Altos Hills children to attend a neighborhood school,” Pefley said.
Justus said his staff is beginning to look into alternative locations for the charter school. He hopes to present some possibilities to the board before January, so the board can incorporate the permanent location of the charter school into the Phase II general obligation bond budget.
“I know that there is not a long list of alternatives out there,” Justus said. “That is the frustrating part.”
Justus said his staff would look into all district-owned sites and begin conversations with the current tenants.
“Tim is exploring other options for the charter school and, if we find one that fits within the budget and the charter school parameters, I will be all for it,” Cooper said.
