About 25 community members, some of them with children at Lakeside Elementary School, attended a public hearing Dec. 9 at the Lakeside Community Center on Black Road in Los Gatos to discuss the long-range plans for district that serves grades K­8. The meeting was facilitated by the Lakeside school board trustees and Superintendent Joyce Salisbury. Board President Parker Stokes started the meeting by defining education-related terms and bringing the audience up to speed on potential changes in store for the district.

Even though Lakeside serves grades K­8, Lakeside seventh- and eighth-grade students have been attending Raymond J. Fisher Middle School for many years, under an annually reviewed agreement. The Los Gatos Union School District, which includes Fisher, was classified as a revenue-limit district until the 2003­04 school year, meaning average daily attendance determined the amount of funding it received. When the Los Gatos district became basic aid, meaning the majority of its revenue now comes from property taxes, the long-standing agreement between the two school districts changed.

Lakeside, which is also a basic aid district, has been paying to send its seventh and eighth graders to Fisher this year, but can't afford to continue this relationship without going bankrupt. Lakeside has an enrollment of less than 100 students, Salisbury said. This year's kindergarten class has five students, Stokes said. He added that a few families moving in or out of the district can significantly affect attendance.

"We're such a small community that happens," he said.

Former parent in the district, Lawrence Johsens, who is the father of Lakeside trustee Hans Johsens, questioned if enrollment continues to decline, whether Lakeside could become a one-room schoolhouse.

"It's possible," Stokes said.

The board members are trying to decide between four different solutions. They are hoping to find one that is sustainable, predictable and is best for the students. They've been holding meetings with parents, teachers and the community to educate and listen to public input before they make a decision.

One option is to continue to send Lakeside seventh- and eighth-grade students to Fisher—until Lakeside goes bankrupt. The second option is to return grades seven and eight to Lakeside. A third option is to continue inter-district transfers and annually reviewed agreements by sending the seventh and eighth graders to schools such as nearby Rolling Hills Middle School or C.T. English Middle School, both of which are currently in revenue-limit school districts.

The fourth option, which would be at least a two- or three-year process requiring the community to vote in a general election, is the merger of Lakeside with another school district.

"We're far more vulnerable to closure in a merger procedure," said Stokes, answering questions from the audience about pros and cons of each option.

The Lakeside board has two upcoming meetings, one Jan. 11 where they'll present and evaluate the possibility of bringing back the K-8 model to Lakeside. At a Jan. 25 meeting, the trustees plan to make a decision as to whether to bring back grades seven and eight—an option not highly supported in an informal survey of Lakeside parents.

"It's not a decision that anyone at that table takes lightly," said Stokes, pointing to where the trustees sat.

Community members at the Dec. 9 meeting questioned how a seventh- and eighth-grade combination class at Lakeside would work, whether it would prepare students as well as Fisher does now, and how difficult the transition would be for students to go directly from Lakeside to Los Gatos High. Should grades seven and eight return, Lakeside might have to restructure its staffing because there would be no funding to add another teacher.

Lawrence, a former Saratoga High School teacher who purchased land in the Los Gatos mountains in 1957 and built a home for his family, said he's seen Lakeside school change over the years. His son, Hans, is a graduate of Lakeside. Lawrence made the point that Lakeside shouldn't try to offer the same kinds of activities Fisher does.

"When you move up to the mountains you leave urban living. You leave suburban living, and you choose rural," he said. "I don't think you people—the board—should burden yourselves with creating an urban-suburban school. They'll (the students) survive without dances, soccer, ceramics and ballet."

Lawrence said his children, including Hans, turned out just fine without the amenities offered at Fisher.

Lakeside parent Theresa Davis said she hoped the trustees wouldn't vote to bring back grades seven and eight because the school might lose some of its magical mountainous charm.

"It would be with existing resources, and we'd be stretching those resources," she said.

For more information, call the Lakeside Joint School District at 408.354.2372.