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Committee on school districts to decide on new boundaries
By Leigh Ann Maze
In a short and civil public hearing at Saratoga High School on March 22, the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Reorganization listened to arguments for and against a proposed territory transfer.
The petitioners are a group of homeowners who live in the 165-unit condominium complex known as the Vineyards of Saratoga near the intersection of Saratoga Avenue and Highway 85. They want their homes transferred from the Campbell Union High School and Moreland School districts to the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School and Saratoga Union School districts.
Two children, who now reside in the Vineyards of Saratoga, attend school in the Moreland district. No children from the Vineyards of Saratoga attend the Campbell Union High School District.
Seven of the Vineyards residents spoke in favor of the transfer, including one child. They said they believe that the Vineyards of Saratoga is in an awkward pocket, surrounded on three sides by the SUSD.
Several speakers cited the changing demographics in the traditionally senior community, as more young people move in. The argument was that children who live in the Vineyards, are denied access to high quality education in their own community.
"I shop, bank and go to church in Saratoga. I use the library and community center in Saratoga, yet my children cannot go to school in Saratoga," said Vineyards resident Bonnie Williams.
Five people spoke against the transfer: one parent whose children attend SUSD schools and all four superintendents from the Saratoga Union, Moreland, Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High and Campbell Union High School districts. The boards of trustees for three of these school districts recently acted in opposition of the territory transfer.
Cynthia Ranii, superintendent of the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District, said her district's board of trustees has reviewed and plans to formally oppose the petition at the April 4 board meeting, unless new information comes to light.
The superintendents base their opposition on a 1997 study of school district organization in the West Valley area. The year-long study was a response to the many territory transfer petitions being received. It concluded that re-drawing the SUSD boundaries to match those of the city of Saratoga was not feasible for financial reasons. The report also recommended against the piecemeal transfer of territories over time.
"Saratoga Union School District opposes territory transfers because of our limited capacity. ... While the decrease in revenue limit is minimal in this case, if more territories transfer, encouraged by this one, the effect would be profound," said SUSD superintendent Mary Gardner.
Campbell Union High School district superintendent Rhonda Farber and SUSD parent Charlotte Sparacino stated that the underlying motivation for the petition might have more to do more with property values than the best interest of the children. Homes in Saratoga within the SUSD boundaries are, "without question," more expensive than homes in Saratoga that are not within the SUSD boundaries, according to Toni Ludwig, with Alain Pinel Realtors.
The committee had questions for the proponents of the transfer, but none for the opponents.
Although there was time remaining, there was no further comment and the public hearing was closed less than 40 minutes after it opened. The committee has 120 days from the day of the hearing to decide on the territory transfer.
The SUSD boundaries frequently were challenged in the past, because they do not include the entire city of Saratoga and often split neighborhoods. There have been six territory transfer petitions from neighboring districts involving the SUSD since 1994. Of those six, only one succeeded in changing the boundaries after a lengthy appeals process to the State Board of Education.
The current school boundaries in Saratoga have changed very little since they were first drawn, more than 50 years ago, according to Santa Clara County Office of Education senior research analyst Larry Shirey.
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Saratoga, California Since 1955
