These negotiations didn't cover MVWSD, the Mountain View elementary and middle school district, so understandably their salaries aren't discussed in detail here. But since the average is lower than the LASD and the high school district, it seems like there's a big incentive for teachers to work at the high school level or in Los Altos instead of Mountain View.

Wouldn't it be simpler for everyone and more equitable for the teachers if the three school districts that cover K-12 education in the area merged? Why are there three superintendents, three school boards, three union negotiations, three sets of administrators, three different entities responsible for groundskeeping, etc.?

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The high school district is only able to offer 'the highest' because it is community funded at well over the average state high school district's ADA ($ per pupil "state supported") rate. With the California Teachers Association union usually insisting 'all teachers get the same schedule' in their union contracts, this would mean high school teachers get less, to average out giving all K-8 teachers the same as MVLA high school teacher's salaries.

I do not think the high school district would ever agree with that. Does it make sense (in a "money doesn't grow on trees" world)?

I do not want to get involved in 'the rich peoples' wars over charter schools, boundaries, and civic centers/schools.

The average of MVWSD teachers, must be lower because in aggregate the MVWSD teachers have significantly less average years of retention than the LASD teachers. The salary scales, the extra degree add-ons, and the health care benefits packages also have to be summedn, if you want to compare MVWSD total teacher compensation packages to other districts.

Why does LASD wait until after the contract has expired, before they get serious about negotiations? MVWSD never seems to let their contracts actually expire.

I wonder if the MV-Whisman District accepts far more students who DO NOT LIVE IN THE DISTRICT just to get the ADA money from the State. What could trigger a switch to the income model enjoyed by the MVLA and Los Altos districts? How much do the Superintendents get paid (total package)?

MVWSD is also a "Community Funded" district. The high school district enjoys the best of both worlds, the residential values of Los Altos Hills, and the commercial tax base of Mountain View. Each Elementary district benefits from one or the other. A merged district would be slightly bigger than Palo Alto, but likely with less "per student" revenue. Both Elementary districts have both bonds and parcel taxes in effect. Being OLD, I watched the elementary merger fifteen years ago, would not want to have to watch another one.

Old Steve is right. I've been through all of these arguments before. The districts are separate legal entities. You would have to get the residents to vote on a merger of all three into one unified district. When my kids were in the school system, this question was asked (at that time, the High School was what they called "basic aid" - meaning they got to keep all of the property tax dollars and were better funded than the two elementary districts, which were "revenue limit." it did, as Steve says, have to do with the MVLA HSD benefitting from the tax revenues of BOTH cities, Los Altos' home property taxes and Mountain View's commercial basis. Parents asked back then about unifying both elementaries and the HS district, but the answer then was the math wouldn't really help the elementaries' bottom lines much, and would probably hurt the HS, so not worth the hassle. And it would absolutely be a hassle to try to merge them, and would in all likelihood fail. They tried to merge Mountain View and Whisman a couple of times, as I understand, before it succeeded.

There are a lot of complex issues with district mergers, but they are all largely political adult issues.

When it comes to kids, it's quite simple, unified (K-12) districts mean:
1) student info (wisdom gained working with a child over the years) and services can follow a student into high school in more active and consistent ways (especially special education)
2) better sync of curriculum and resources between the middle schools and high schools, so less overlap or gaps, and more building on synergies and K-8 initiatives (example, PAUSD is launching a K-12 computer science scope and sequence, SFUSD already has too: Web Link )
3) teachers at all levels would be paid equally. For MV residents to shrug off a $45,000 pay difference between HS and K-8 for teachers within the very same community, working with the very same kids, where they all face the same cost of living, and have the same levels of training is indefensible.
4) lower district overhead, so more dollars can flow to the classroom

I am not naive to think that a district merger is going to happen, but it's not going to happen because the political will is not there, not because it's a bad idea. A 2010 Santa Clara grand jury reached this same conclusion: Web Link

Like most political problems, the borders of MVWSD, LASD, and MVLA are inherited systems that in some cases even pre-date the incorporation of our cities, and I hope one day we will be ready to re-building a district or districts structured for kids, not adults.

Public Hearing - Solar Power Purchase Agreement

PUBLIC NOTICE

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that on May 22, 2017, at 7:00 p.m. or as soon thereafter as practicable, at a scheduled public meeting of the Board of Trustees (“Board”) of the Los Altos School District, which will be held at the District Office located at 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, California 94024, the Board will consider entering into a solar power purchase agreement for the installation of photovoltaic systems on the property of the District. At this meeting, the Board will hold a public hearing on and consider a resolution to adopt findings required by Government Code section 4217.12 regarding anticipated energy cost savings and other benefits the District may receive if the Board decides to enter into the power purchase agreement. Any protest pertaining to the regularity or sufficiency of the proceedings shall be in writing and shall clearly set forth the irregularities and defects to which the objection is made. Any written protest shall be filed with the Clerk of the District on or before the time set for the hearing. The District may waive any irregularities in the form or content of any written notice and at the hearing may correct minor defects in the proceedings. Written protests may be withdrawn, in writing, at any time before the conclusion of the hearing. The resolution, agreement and supporting documents will be included with the Board’s regular public agenda for the May 22, 2017 meeting.

above from an email from LASD

The only simple defense of not giving all elementary district teachers at least a $45,000 per year salary increase is
3) money doesn't grow on trees

As a current MVWSD teacher, it would be wise for our district to start matching the salaries of neighboring districts. Santa Clara Unified School District pays almost $10,000 per year more. In terms of a teachers salary, that's a HUGE discrepancy. The staff turn over at MVWSD is embarrassingly high.