Outstanding article detailing all the various claims by those perpetuating this scheme. To me, it's a scheme, because it's so complicated and convoluted. I could understand this if the motivation was to actually build an elementary school for those living in this area, but the fact that they say they may well not use it for those kids. I'm glad the article mentioned the city council endorsing a local-serving school. The interesting thing is that the Charter School that serves all of the LASD territory is already the closest school for elementary kids in this area. It's already very nearby in Los Altos just up San Antonio at W. Portola Avenue. So one possible use is to relocate these kids very close nearby and consolidate with their 2nd site over in South Los Altos. They already have 900 kids in attendance split 600 or so at W. Portola and 300 or so on Covington near Grant Road.

But consider that these kids travel from all over LASD in Mountain View including the Grant Road area and the Blossom Valley/Springer area and from all over Los Altos and Los Altos hills. Where's the logic at locating their single school clear at the far end of the district in the San Antonio area? How much Park will be possible with a 1000+ student school on less land than LASD typically uses for 500?

I do wish the article made it clear that their options are for 1 normal size school for the local area or a DOUBLE size school for the charter school serving 20+ times more area. The impact on the San Antonio area is obviously greater with a 1000 student school than with a 500 student school..... but this is only the worst of the misleading plans from LASD.

Note the point made in the article about the lack of a completed Master Plan after more than THREE YEARS of waiting. They have no official statement that each student deserves equal treatment. They have said things about the San Antonio area kids having to settle for an inferior school site relative to outdoor play space. They make no plans to provide an after school care program on the new San Antonio site, which is found at every other school in Los Altos and Mountain View, regardless of district. Beware of LASD's misleading and incomplete plans!

The LASD Board of Trustees seems to be completely out of their league in what they are trying to do here. Just watch. This will be the most expensive K-8 school in state history! And at the end of the day, nobody will be happy with it.

It does not make sense to move Bullis to the area. We need a neighborhood school, not Bullis!

If the development rights are sold and attach to an area of MVWSD that is is the Shoreline Community quasi-redevelopment district, there will be 0 dollars and 0 cents guaranteed to the future General Fund of the MVWSD! Why, the 1969 special legislation setting up Shoreline diverted ALL NEW property tax revenue into Shoreline.

The City should restrict the transfer of those rights to "property outside the borders of Shoreline's district." Only then will MVWSD be guaranteed all the new development money it SHOULD HAVE from any new construction.

The City Council - may legally restrict its offer of shared use park land money ONLY TO A NEIGHBORHOOD USE SCHOOL, and not a charter school.

Sunset On Shoreline!

Why should the rest of Mountain View pay for LASD problems? I might be okay with this plan if the San Antonio area would get a neighborhood school, but it looks like that they want to use this site for the charter school. So really just moving traffic out of Los Altos and into Mountain View -- Nice!

I am concerned that LASD has been given the green light to dump on MV. Moving higher density housing, and addition students over to MVWSD. Also, does this mean that LASD gets to move school drop off congestion out of Los Altos and into Mountain View? If so, I urge the Mountain View City Council to not support this plan. They should but the charter school on land that they already have, no reason to mess up MV.


Many of us commute through this already very conjested area, -- now it will be jammed with school drop off traffic. Get your act together City Council. Reject this plan.

No, no, already 600 kids who live north of El Camino Real in LASD, which is
in Mountain View commute across El Camino Real into Los Altos. This just
duplicates that situation, meaning DOUBLE traffic for 600 kids
driving on the streets to go 2 or 3 miles to school. Most of this traffic
from the Mountain VIew kids is in Los Altos because the schools
are so far away from the border! Now add in 900 new kids, coming from all across
Los Altos and into Mountain View. Once again 90% of the route
is in Los Altos, not Mountain View.

You're being too narrow focused if you think all the traffic is in the areas of
Mountain View around San Antonio. MOST of the traffic effect is on
Los Altos. 1500 kids will be crossing El Camino Real on 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 mile
routes to get to school each morning and back again in the afternoon. Only
1/4 mile or so will be in Mountain View. So rest easy.

I respectfully see things differently from some of the commenters above. This isn't about re-locating the specific charter school who choose to establish itself in Los Altos. The district didn't approve the school, didn't ask for it, and has had to spend millions of dollars to try to protect the "local" LASD students from being negatively impacted. If LASD were really happy to give the charter school special rights and status, they would have done so years ago, and not have spent all that money in legal fees. Don't take my word for it, as a careful review of the history shows that the last thing LASD has done has been to willingly give the charter school privileged status or extra rights. LASD has paid all the legal costs, and fought this battle, at no cost to Mountain View. A lot of people have issues with the fact that the charter school is closest to the Mountain View LASD students, and is not open to Mountain View residents automatically, myself included. But remember that LASD CAN'T make the charter school do anything, especially something that will benefit the district students as a whole. If you are not okay with the situation, please blame the people who are actually responsible, and contact the charter school directly to discuss your concerns.

Mountain View isn't being asked to "pay for LASD problems." LASD is trying to HELP the students who are in LASD, but happen to live in Mountain View AS WELL. Those students deserve a school in their neighborhood. Traffic congestion unavoidably increases when ANY school is opened at a site, but that doesn't mean that site isn't an overall good thing for students and their families who would not have to travel past San Antonio.

We've been working on this for years, and finally it looks like it might come to fruition, and North of El Camino LASD students may finally get the local school I think they deserve. I wish we could all get behind that.

No, you miss the point. To give LASD a sweet deal on land in the LASD district near San Antonio, Mountain View is talking about inflicting relocated growth from that area on ANOTHER part of Mountain View, not part of LASD.
That's the issue with shifting cost burdens.

You are wrong that LASD has had to spend extra for the charter students. On the contrary, each LASD resident student at the charter school costs LASD about half as much as it spends on students at its traditional schools. The charter school students would be at various LASD schools if they weren't at the charter. This is a standard condition in nearly every school district in the state. Charter schools are everywhere, and they SAVE the taxpayers money. LASD has made some really stupid moves in spending on legal fees to try to get out of SHARING the facilities that have been paid for by the residents with all the public school kids in the district. LASD claims it is special, and should get out of normal obligations. The only thing different is that in most district you don't find charter schools that serve about 20% asd many students as all of the traditional schools combined. There is TONS of interest in the charter program among all LASD eligible students.

Just to be clear, the LASD plans are to sell 610,000 ft of deelopment rights.
In place that would have been 75%+ new housing and 25% commercial, with
a preference by the city toward keeping retail vs. adding office space.
LASD's TDR sale list shows keeping 150,000 in the San Antonio area but
selling it entirely for new office development. Of the 460,000 other TDR's
at present 12,000 would go to North Bayshore offices, 10,000 to housing
in East Whisman and 438,000 to new office space around the East Whisman
area. So, that's a LOT of added workers commuting into the city each day,
around 2200, over near Ellis Street and 237 down to Central Expressway/Evelyn.

So in San Antonio, subtract 450,000 sq ft of new residencess (1000 residences).
Add 1000 new students commuting to school. About even. Hardwire
150,000 sq ft as offices vs. retail. Get a park.

In the rest of the city, add in 2200 new workers that wouldn't have otherwise
been there, mostly all in one area of the city about to undergo a LOT of
new workers anyway, East Whisman/Ferry Morse.

So that's how Mountain View areas NOT in LASD are paying (suffering?) to
make a park and a school in the San Antonio area.