Redistricting proposals get parents mobilized
By Jennifer Zhang
Many Cupertino parents are worried about the unclear future of elementary and middle schools in the Cupertino Union School District. Besides lingering contractual negotiation problems, many parents are concerned about the upcoming changes in middle school boundaries.
To accommodate the district's new Collins Middle School, projected to open in 2005, the district has been reviewing different ways to redraw middle school boundaries to reduce overcrowding.
The Middle School Attendance Areas Task Force was formed in November 2001 to carry out the redistricting. The team of 30, which includes district administrators, teachers and community professionals, has been studying and investigating different sets of possible new boundaries. The team will make a recommendation to the board of education as it makes the final decision this November.
Currently there are four proposals, each impacting residents living in different areas.
For example, proposal number one, which is also known as the "blue" proposal, requires students living in the Faria area to cross busy streets such as De Anza and Stevens Creek Boulevard to attend the farther new middle school and later return to their neighborhood to attend Monta Vista High School.
Faria parents strongly oppose this plan because they argue that the heavy traffic on busy streets is very dangerous for their children. Furthermore, some say attending elementary, middle and high schools in different areas destroys continuity in their children's friendships.
Faria residents organized a neighborhood meeting on May 24 to discuss these concerns as they shared information and listened to each other's input.
"It's not about real estate values," said Sandra Murata, a parent and one of the organizers of the meeting. "It's about our children's safety. We all need to work together and do what's best for our children."
Murata and other Faria parents support the "green" proposal, or proposal number four, which produces no major alterations to their plans. If adopted, their children would continue attending Kennedy Middle School.
However, under this plan, other children, such as those now attending Garden Gate Elementary School, will encounter similar changes.
Proposals two and three, also known as "red A" and "red B" proposals, are not as popular as the blue plan. According to Mark Burns, a task force member, it is very unlikely that either one of the red proposals would be adopted.
"Right now about 75 percent on the task force support the blue proposal," he said. "But this might change as we continue to meet and discuss."
The task force scheduled three community input meetings to present its progress report and seek public comment. They will be identical in content and take place from 7 to 8:30 p.m.
The first meeting will take place on May 29 in the Cupertino Middle School multipurpose room. The second meeting will take place on June 3 in the Miller Middle School multipurpose room. The last meeting will be in the guided learning center in Garden Gate Elementary School on June 4.
The task force will continue to meet in the fall to make revisions to its report, after which another round of community meetings will take place.
For more information about the proposals, visit www.cupertino.k12.ca.us/do.www/taskforce/mstf.htm.
Cupertino, California Since 1947
