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 Satterlee Discussions between Los Altos School District and Los Altos City Council officials may be moving past a previous stalemate regarding Hillview Community Center. While the property was not discussed at length at a city-schools subcommittee meeting last week, Los Altos School District Board of Trustees President Doug Smith tried to revive what he called a “possible path to move forward.”
Last year at a joint meeting, parents attended en masse to share reasons for converting the city-owned Hillview property, once used as a school, into a 10th school district site. At that time, councilmembers would not discuss Hillview as an option unless the school board trustees signed a letter revoking their right to eminent domain. Eminent domain is the right of a public entity to seize private property or, in this case, city property, for public use. Not wanting to limit the rights of future boards, the trustees declined and the conversation hit a dead end. Now, with three new councilmembers and a new school board member, discussions about Hillview may be renewed. “I don’t know how we explore (the Hillview discussion) without lighting a firestorm,” Smith said. “How about some education for us? I would like to understand the full list of concerns. I don’t understand all (of Hillview’s) uses.” Councilwoman Megan Satterlee, hesitant to discuss the issue, said the Hillview topic is difficult to broach. “How do you discuss a topic with potential litigation?” she asked. “I still feel like I have a gun to my head. I’m not sure how to manage within that.” Smith introduced the possibility of reaching an agreement, similar to one the school district and Bullis Charter School have met under, where both parties agree that what is said in particular meetings may not be used for litigation purposes. “I’d be willing to explore that, if you are willing,” Satterlee told the trustees. Smith and Trustee Tammy Logan shared a report on possible 10th-site locations with Satterlee and Mayor Jarrett Fishpaw. A school district subcommittee is examining 17 sites, most of which have not been revealed to the public. The district subcommittee, on which Logan serves, is reviewing properties to determine their feasibility as school sites. As for Los Altos public land, Hillview Community Center and Rosita Park are both on the list.
9 Comments
1"MV Growth/Responsibility"
at Wednesday, 06 March 2013 14:28
It is neither the burden nor the responsibility of Los Altos to provide yet another campus for LASD. 26% of LASD students come from Mountain View, yet only 1 LASD campus (Springer) is located in MV. In other words, Mountain View has provided only 11% (1/9) of LASD campuses for Mountain View's 26% (1/4) share of LASD students. A new LASD campus should be situated in Mountain View, ideally in the north of El Camino area which currently is home to about 600 LASD students. This number will increase with the completion of several new high density housing units currently under construction in the NEC neighborhood. Los Altos should not have to shoulder the cost in terms of traffic and recreational space for Mountain View's development. Mountain View needs to either allocate space for another LASD school, or stop approving high density housing in the LASD area, or it should expect it's students to be further divided among the existing LASD campuses. Keep Hillview as a community center!
2Comment
at Thursday, 07 March 2013 08:51
Wouldn't it be better to focus on what best serves the needs of our community instead of hewing to ratios?
3"Smarter Decisions Needed"
at Saturday, 09 March 2013 23:01
We dont need another school in Los Altos. We need to redraw attendance boundaries and provide BCS with a site. We also need to make sure the NEC area has access to school. Here is one way to do it:
1. Move six grade to Egan and Blach, this will provide these students with better facilities and the specialists they need at that grade level.
2. Share Covington - either by creating a dual BCS Covington Campus OR by moving GB to Covington and putting GCS there.
3. Use the money you are planning to use on Hillview on a school for the NEC.
4"Hillview for Los Altos"
at Saturday, 09 March 2013 23:05
An expected 750 Mountain View students being driven into and out of Los Altos every schoolday morning and afternoon does not serve the Los Altos community well. Nor does giving up Los Altos recreational space for Mountain View students.
If the NEC area has room for a hotel and a theater complex and hundreds of thousands of square feet of retail/housing/office space (as proposed in phase 2 of the San Antonio project), then there is certainly enough space for a school. Since MV will be earning hundreds of thousands of dollars per year in sales tax when phase 1 is completed, then MV certainly can afford to allocate land for a school. It is a matter of priorities.
5"School for NEC"
at Monday, 11 March 2013 09:30
It is silly to keep saving the space at the Jr High's to be able to add the 6th grade there and then not do so. Make that decision once and for all. Moving 6th grade to Egan and Blach doesn't work so well with opening an NEC school. Already without the NEC kids, Covington, Almond and Santa Rita would only have 400 students each. You don't need to remove 6th grade to make room, and that would make a tiny school without those 50 6th graders at each school. And the remaining student count would not grow over time as all the growth is in the NEC area.
6"Hillview as a school"
at Monday, 11 March 2013 09:31
The NEC area is very small to hold 600 K-8 students. It's only 1/2 mile from Egan's campus, which is not that much of a trip into Los Altos and the kids are all on the South side of Central Expressway, so they don't travel far if they go to Egan. Going to Hillview is quite a bit further, as is Covington.
The options in Mountain View are few and far between. Historically the school for NEC was in Los Altos on 10 acres since converted into 40-50 homes in a tract in the area of Delphi Court. This school served part of Los Altos bordering on El Camino, reducing the attendance at Santa Rita and Almond. As those populations dropped off, they needed the students which formerly went to Portola Elementary. I don't begrudge the Mountain View students a school in Los Altos -- that's just the way the area developed. A few of the students NEC live in Palo Alto's Monroe Park too. What's wrong with Hillview is that it is too small at just 6 acres and it has no synergy with and adjacent school.
7"Egan as a dual school"
at Monday, 11 March 2013 09:31
Two story buildings would be very difficult on the Hillview location but they have already begun at Egan. Egan could afford to provide a good 8 acres to an elementary campus and then operate on 12 acres. Historically it has only ever really used 14 or so acres, and it has a lot of old buildings and sheds which are not used much any longer and which take up a lot of ground. There are a dozen organizations operating at Hillview and relocating them would take a lot of land and construction.
It would be less costly to do a full remodel of Egan to have a 2nd driveway directly off of San Antonio. The parking lot would buffer the school from the San Antonio noise. Tear down the old shanties at Egan and replace with another new 2 story building to match the first 2 story at Egan. All could be well with 2 schools at Egan, one for NEC K-6 and the current 708. With only 400 students each there'd be room to share with BCS, most likely at Covington with 16 acres and a park next to it.
8"To Los Altos Homeowner"
at Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:15
Please consider:
1) The traffic ramifications. West Portola is a narrow street with inadequate sidewalks and bike lanes. Two schools filled with mostly commuters is inconsiderate to the Los Altos neighborhood, at best, and at worst is extremely dangerous for peds/bikes/cars. Especially since this corridor hosts Santa Rita cars/bikes/peds as well. Even with a parking lot off of San Antonio, much of the NEC traffic would continue to come down Los Altos Ave and turn onto W. Portola to reach the school(s).
2) One reason BCS is suing LASD is because BCS thinks the corner of Egan is too small to support a school. If it is too small for BCS, it is too small to support the larger NEC population.
3) Egan needs its baseball diamond, tennis court, and athletic fields back to restore its full PE and sports programs. What other junior highs in our area lack such facilities? Contrary to popular opinion, the Egan campus was designed to be 1 school campus, not 2. Continued ...
9"continued"
at Thursday, 14 March 2013 20:16
4) All the Egan sheds I am aware of are heavily used and filled with junior high equipment such as large hurdles and landing mats for track and field, street hockey equipment, nets, balls, etc. Egan is currently cramped for space -- instructiona, athletic, and otherwise.
5) Putting a commuter population (NEC) on the old Portola campus mentioned in above comments would be a disaster. East Portola is even narrower than West Portola and similarly lacks sidewalks and bike lanes. When packs of Egan bicyclists fill the street,there is hardly space for 1 car to pass, let alone 2 going in opposite directions.
6) Egan is not a solution (see above). NEC has a large and growing population in Moutnain View and needs its own educational, community, and recreational facilities in the MV neighborhood (and not in Los Altos).
6)The NEC area may be small, but there is a large enough population to warrant a school and plenty of space to provide one. Again, it is a matter of priorities.
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