By Rolandus Roosenboom
I'm responding to Mr. Johnson's editorial titled, "Boundaries were there when houses were built." His blistering attack on the proponents of a school boundary redrawing warrants a response. Mr. Johnson's argument is basically that homeowners knew the boundaries when they purchased their homes and that these boundaries have been in effect for years. Furthermore, he would have proponents make a lump sum payment, akin to the increase of their property values upon being added to the Saratoga School District.
Mr. Johnson's simplistic, financially oriented argument does not address the educational, demographic and psychological problems at the core of the boundary debate. As a rhetorical question, how would Mr. Johnson react if he were asked to donate part of his equity gains, solely earned by his home's location in the Saratoga School District, back to the cash-strapped district upon the future sale of his house? Obviously not a productive solution! Even though our homes are not within the current SUSD boundaries, they still carry a premium because of their Saratoga address. The Campbell School District study estimates a 10 percent increase in home values for any homes that are redistricted into Saratoga school boundaries. This is not worth considering moving for, since Mr. Johnson's "windfall profits" would all be eaten up by real estate sales fees and moving costs.
At the forefront of the boundary dispute is the quality of education. The primary concern of every responsible parent is to obtain the best possible education for their child. Can we, as parents, expect equal education throughout Saratoga? Unfortunately, reality tells us no.
A recent study commissioned by the Campbell Union School District shows a large gap in test scores. There was a time in the past that the educational systems were on a more equal footing between the two districts; hence less consideration was given to where one's home was located. Any address in Saratoga or Campbell came with excellent schools. During the last decade, demographics have played a significant role in redefining the student populations in our school districts. Generally, Saratogans and residents of Los Gatos come from different educational, professional and economic backgrounds than our neighboring communities.
As an example, we can look at Marshall Lane Elementary School. This Campbell district school lies within the city of Saratoga boundaries. As a result, this school is attended by two different groups of Saratoga students, in addition to students from the town of Los Gatos and Campbell. These students will spend seven years of their lives building friendships from kindergarten through sixth grade. Some of these students live across the street or within blocks of each other, where they continue to build on their friendships after school. This bonding is suddenly interrupted when they attend seventh grade. Marshall Lane students living in the Saratoga School District will attend Saratoga schools, and Saratoga students living in the Campbell district will attend Campbell schools. Long-standing friendships will be under pressure to drift apart because team sports and other activities from competing schools will become an obstacle to their continued bonding. This is often referred to as "a feeling of belonging to the community" by our parents. This feeling of community belonging is not a front-burner issue for some school boards.
On Feb. 26, before the County Committee on School District Organization, officials from the Campbell School District stated that they wish the current school boundaries to remain intact. The reason given was that they need the tax revenue from us for their school bonds. They requested that the town of Los Gatos and city of Saratoga continue sharing our prosperity for the solvency of the Campbell School District. We are basically being asked to subsidize their shortcomings, and as a reward, we will receive a less than superior education at an additional cost of community isolation for our children.
In order to find a solution to the boundary debate, the committee has commissioned consultants from Caldwell Flores Winters, Inc. An open forum with Dr. Michael Winters will be held April 26, from 9 a.m. to noon, in the auditorium of the Monta Vista High School, 21840 McClellan Road, Cupertino. The findings and recommendations by this consulting firm will be nonbinding and will be used as a basis to any boundary changes by the county committee.
It is important for all concerned parents, within their respective neighborhoods, to get involved in this process. Utmost consideration should be given to the young students in our community. Although the Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union High School District is funded differently from the Campbell Union School District, consideration should be given to a more equitable distribution of property funds to keep all districts solvent pending a final solution. How to fairly distribute this cost should be resolved by the officials involved and, ultimately, by us--the voters.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, April 16, 1997.
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