Los Gatos Weekly-Times

County committee adds scenario

Saratoga suggests looking at K-12 as a possibility, LGUSD protests addition

By Michelle Alaimo

Some 450 people expressed mixed emotions, from shock to resignation, after the last-minute addition of a fourth scenario to the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization's list of possible reorganization scenarios, which were announced at a public meeting on Aug. 27. The fourth proposal includes creating a K-12 district in both Saratoga and Los Gatos, either within current boundaries or to conform to city boundaries.

The scenario was first mentioned by Jill Hunter of the Saratoga Union School District when she asked the committee, during a question-and-answer period, if they would consider unifying Saratoga as a K-12 district and do the same for Los Gatos. She said it was something the board thought needed to be looked at in light of the proposals in scenario two with its focus on city boundaries.

The other three scenarios discussed would:

* Maintain the current organization and address instances of extreme geographic isolation through territory transfers. This includes conducting a study of the territory in Santa Cruz County adjacent to the Lakeside and the Loma Prieta joint union school districts.

* Modify the boundaries of the school districts to conform to city boundaries. Monte Sereno would be placed entirely in the Los Gatos School District. This scenario also includes reorganizing the remainder of Campbell Union High School District into three unified school districts.

* Combine the first two scenarios so that instances of extreme geographic isolation through territory transfers would be addressed, and Campbell Union High School District would be reorganized into three unified school districts.

SUSD Superintendent Mary Gardner told the committee that by asking for the K-12 unification scenario to be studied, they are not necessarily saying they support it.

After two hours of questions from the public, the committee voted to accept for study the three scenarios that had been discussed that evening. But before the scenarios were accepted, committee member Tonya Izu asked the committee to amend the list to include a fourth. The committee's 4-to-1 approval authorizes consultant Michael Winters to study the possibility of two new K-12 districts in both Los Gatos and Saratoga.

LGUSD Superintendent Bert Pearlman said he was shocked by the possibility. "It's total opposition to what we brought forward at the [June 19] meeting," he said. At that public forum, Pearlman received a standing ovation after telling the committee, "We respectfully ask you to leave us out of your global solutions."

Pearlman added that he thought voting on an item not listed on the agenda was a violation of the Brown Act, also known as the open meeting law.

Larry Shirey, senior research analyst for the Santa Clara Office of Education, said the committee was not in violation of the Brown Act.

"The whole purpose of this was for the county committee to respond to a suggestion made by the subcommittee," committee member Betty Nelson said.

The committee made the decision not to wait until its Sept. 24 public meeting to add the new scenario because the consultant said it could hold up their timeline. The goal is to have a final report on what scenario would work best presented to the committee in December. The group would then make its recommendation to the state Board of Education in February 1998. If the Board of Education approves the recommendation, an election would be held in June or November 1999. The Board of Education determines who is eligible to vote in the election. Whatever scenario is approved by voters, the earliest any changes would take effect is July 1, 2000.

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