Thank you Elena for setting the record straight, about the Huttlinger Alliance, BCS, and the Voice's biased editorial on this topic.

It is in the interests of everyone living in the area covered by the Los Altos School District, including much of Mountain View, to keep the LASD schools among the best in the state. LASD is a big draw to home buyers, and it helps keep everyone's property values stable and rising, and improves the quality of our community.

We would all be better off if everyone, including in particular BCS, would work together to find the best solution for school facilities and funding for those facilities. I strongly second your closing sentence, "To achieve the goal of fairly housing all students will require that BCS not look to the courts to force a solution, but instead actively participate in good faith with the larger community to solve the problem together."

The person who wrote the previous piece needs to be MUCH more informed about the issue.

The district has purposely chosen to provide BCS with bad facilities to attempt to discourage participation by students in the BCS program. The district already lacks neighborhood schools for a good many students, who have to travel a mile or more to get to school. The current location of schools favors certain specific locations with local schools and denies them to others. A district-wide program serves to compensate. LASD has denied students access to any sort of district-wide magnet program. The people exercising their right to form and join a charter are allowed facilities also. While the decision does not require an entire school campus, the history of disregarding the required level of facilities suggests it as a direct resolution. Just because it is not required does not mean it cannot be concluded that given the other factors it is the right option. It is taking too long to come up with a reasonable workable alternative. The distance between the two sites provided to BCS is 4 miles.

As a parent in this community, and a long time supporter of our local schools, I will never understand the arrogance of the BCS parents and teachers. My friends are parents at BCS, but then they send their children to the local high schools and have no complaints. I just don't get it! I know far too much and the BCS parents and leaders are all just spoiled adults who basically turn me off! Unfortunately for them, I am not in the minority. The community will not pass a bond to build a school for the squeaky people who are trying to destroy our community. Hello? Don't they get it? Ummm - obviously not.

I can think of many ways to give BCS an existing campus without driving up the population of any school over 600. Here are the best ones:

1. Give Covington to BCS. Move Covington North to the current BCS site and make a new school for the growing NEC neighborhood. This school would have 350 - 400 students from the Crossings and a large part of the Almond attendance area ( both sides of El Camino including LA area north and west of LAHS) - it could also take some from Santa Rita. The Covington Students would go to GB, Springer, Almond and Loyola. The campus should be rebuilt with classrooms similar to those at other LASD schools and they should be able to share some Egan Facilities. ( Track, Gyms, Tennis Courts)

2. Move the sixth grade to the middle schools- six graders will get better facilities and better instruction. Close Covington and move students to Santa Rita, GB, Springer, Loyola and Almond. Move BCS to Covington.

3. Move the sixth grade to the middle schools - Close GB. Move GB students to Santa Rita and Covington. Move BCS to GB.

4. Santa Rita and BCS switch campuses. Santa Rtia and Egan share the Egan Campus.

5. BCS and GB switch campuses. GB and Egan share the Egan Campus.

All of the solutions above will move some kids, but so will redistricting, which will have to happen soon.

One other idea -
Move BCS to Covington or GB - Start a magnet school at the current Egan Camp site.

The author neglects the fact that children of the Crossings were displaced several years ago and forced to go to Covington.

The Alliance is nothing more that a bunch of parents who want to be able to go to their neighborhood school of choice within walking distance. The rest of us are forced to take a hike.

I believe that people in the Alliance genially believe that their cause. They bought their house right next door to a school and they believe that their needs and property values trump those of everyone else. To be fair, most of them don't realize that their situation is the exception rather than the rule. The majority of us in the LASD boundaries live more than 1/2 mile from our assigned neighborhood school and at least half of us are interested in some other program. Many of us have already opted out by sending our kids to private school or to BCS. Its time to end the preference for the one size fits all "neighborhood" school model. This program favors Los Altos residents while impacting those of us in MV and LAH.
BCS parents are not the enemy, they just want options and I am sure if offered the choice with a guaranteed placement in a magnet or charter school many LASD parents would opt for choice as well. Its time to end the authoritarian grip that the LASD BoT, the Alliance, and other assorted groups have placed on our community. Its time to end the divisive tactics that are turning neighbor against neighbor. Most of us just want to live in peace and send our kids to the school of our choice, not one forced on us by our address. Its time to end the stranglehold and come up with some new ideas. The Alliance is really evil,
even though that is not their intention. What they are doing is impacting everyone in our community. Please resist the blob.

Dear What's the Scenario, your #1 idea "create a North of El Camino school" would be disastrous. Schools run well with high numbers of parent volunteers. If there's one school (NEC) with disproportionately high numbers of lower-income kids (English Language Learners), it wouldn't have the same level of volunteers supporting the teachers and running critical programs. Don't you think most of those families have both parents working full time and/or the stay-at-home parent might not feel comfortable and/or qualified to volunteer? Every time I hear that suggestion, I cringe. Really, really bad idea.

One of the key issues for LASD and creating choice or magnet schools is funding. PAUSD runs several choice schools (they do not call them magnet on purpose) and they spend over $5,000 more per student. And BCS too spends more per student than LASD which they provide via donation. Saratoga is able to offer choice with its three schools by changing to a lottery model for all three schools. This is a completely different model than what LASD has been. I agree with offering choices, but we have to find the budget to pay for it. And it's hard to say that one familiy's choice is more important than another's. Fairness is hard to find.

Here's another solution.

BCS curtails their enrollment to just siblings until we build a new campus. BCS is the only school who can do this and just like they willfully grew their enrollment--including the addition of a 7-8 program before they had even the foggiest idea of how they'd find the facilities for it. This latest irresponsible move on their part shows how little regard they have not only for our children but even their own.

The board of directors at Bullis Charter School has absolute and ultimate control over this situation.

They are creating these problems ON PURPOSE in order to extract revenge for acts from almost a decade ago. The whole problem could just go away with ZERO impact to existing students with a single, effortless act by the BCS board.

And yes, BCS parents are not the enemy--the BCS board is. Unfortunately BCS parents have absolutely, positively NO say in their situation and are victims of these thugs just like the rest of us are.

BCS wants to be different. They want to have an integrated K-8 program. To get that they want to force LASD to be different too. BCS parents have suggested that LASD move to a K-5, 6-8 program or a K-8 program just to make room for BCS regardless of whether it is in the best educational interests of the students.