By Eliza Ridgeway

While both sides of the school redistricting debate have agreed to meet for another round of negotiations, neither side has kicked off the conversation with a significant change in policy that might alleviate the current stalemate.

The Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization closed its first hearing on the issue earlier this month with the strongly worded suggestion that Los Altos Hills, the Los Altos School District and the other affected school districts negotiate a solution before the committee meets again on Jan. 25. Some of the key issues at stake include the nature and permanence of the elementary school Los Altos School District plans to reopen at the Bullis-Purissima site and the option for LAH students living within the current Palo Alto Unified School District boundary to transfer to that school.

Redistricting remains the town’s “No. 1 priority” Los Altos Hills City Councilman Craig Jones said, but he and the council have strategized other “structural solutions” - compromises that might achieve some of the town’s goals. He said the only unacceptable resolution would be one that maintained the status quo, or that restricted access to Gunn High School for at least those Hills residents on the PAUSD side of town.

“I think for the (county) committee to think that maybe by the 25th every single thing would be solved is maybe stretching it a bit,” said LASD Superintendent Tim Justus. “That doesn’t mean that the district and the town won’t continue to keep working towards something.”

The town and district had not met by press time, but Justus said that meeting some of the town’s goals, such as facilitating student transfers between the Palo Alto and Los Altos school districts, should be doable. He also said that town involvement in the planned new school facility, including planning and future after-hours use of the space, was a district goal.

“If it was just the town wanting the district to open back up a school, we sure are meeting their needs,” Justus said. “The fact that there is a request to talk more, that would lead me to believe that there must be some other issue that they are interested in.”

The extent to which the negotiations will hinge on Bullis Charter School remains unknown. Jones said he would be open to discussing the resolution of an LASD school at the Bullis-Purissima site, while the town’s public education committee listed space and funding for the charter school as necessary facets of any negotiated solution.

The Los Altos Hills City Council was divided in its prognosis for the future of redistricting.

“From what I’ve seen at the county level, I think getting (a negative decision) overridden at the state level is very, very dubious,” said Councilman Jean Mordo.

Los Altos Hills Councilman Breene Kerr was more sanguine and referred to the town’s informational material, which the committee had not received from its staff before the earlier hearing.

“Once that packet is fully read by the board members, that might sway their decision,” Kerr said.

The council approved

almost $100,000 to finance

the redistricting effort, half of which will cover costs already incurred.