Los Gatos Weekly-Times

County committee studies six redistricting scenarios

Boundaries could change dramatically

By Michelle Alaimo

The Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization is considering six possible scenarios for ending the longstanding dispute about district transfers and school boundaries in the Saratoga, Los Gatos and Campbell school districts.

The areawide school district boundary study committee offered the half-dozen options at a May 28 meeting at Leigh High School. The public will have an opportunity to discuss the options at a public forum on June 19 from 4 to 8 p.m. at Monta Vista High School in Cupertino.

The various scenarios are

* changing district boundaries to conform to the city boundaries

* unifying 11 West Valley districts into two districts along the current high school district boundaries

* unifying elementary and high school districts within certain areas

* creating two or three school districts using natural boundary lines such as major streets or freeways

* creating one areawide school district

* leaving current boundaries intact, addressing territory transfers only in instances of extreme geographic isolation, such as pockets of houses located in one district but surrounded on all sides by students of another district

The options were presented as part of the committee's ongoing study of school district reorganization that began in February. "It's an issue raised by a few people that affects many," Los Gatos Union School District Superintendent Bert Pearlman said.

"As a supervisor, I would urge people to respond to the committee," Pearlman said, adding that he believes it is not the will of the community to unify into one district.

LGUSD Assistant Superintendent Mary Ann Park agreed and said that unifying all the districts into one would scatter the focus.

LGUSD board member Dorothy Rouse said she has some concerns about the possible redistricting scenarios. "This is sort of an all-or-nothing deal. Either we don't do anything, or we make huge changes."

Some board members are unhappy with the idea of high schools being in the same district as elementary schools. Park said that kindergarten through eighth-grade students have needs very different from those of high school students, and mixing the two groups would not benefit anyone.

The county committee will meet after the June forum to determine what actions it will take regarding the scenarios. This could include adding, deleting or modifying the existing recommendations. Consultant Michael Winters of Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc., will then study the scenarios in terms of legal criteria.

The county committee hired Winters at the end of February to examine why so many interdistrict transfer petitions have been filed in the Los Gatos and Saratoga region.

"We can't just make changes without affecting everyone," said Larry Shirey, senior research analyst for the Santa Clara County Office of Education.

Shirey said there has been a lot of interest in changing school boundaries within Los Gatos and Saratoga in the past couple years.

The motivation behind this interest seems to be both economic and educational, Pearlman said. He added that houses located within the Saratoga and Los Gatos school districts are worth 10 percent to 20 percent more. The reputation of Los Gatos and Saratoga schools has also brought in a deluge of interdistrict transfer requests.

The study is expected to end in December, when the committee will adopt a final recommendation to present to the state Board of Education. The board will then decide whether to take action on the recommendation. If the board approves it, the recommendation will go before the voters. Shirey said the earliest recommendations can take effect, after voter approval, would be July 1, 2000.

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