Saratoga News

Some residents victorious in boundary battle

By Sarah Lombardo

Some Saratoga residents have achieved a victory in the battle to move school district boundaries along the Campbell-Saratoga border. The state Board of Education voted unanimously in May to support a petition by 53 Twain Court- area residents to make the switch in districts. The vote gives residents the right to hold a vote in November and finalize the move from Campbell's to Saratoga's attendance area.

Campbell officials said they are thinking of appealing the vote.

"The high school district is still weighing its options on appealing the decision," said Campbell Union High School District Superintendent Bruce Hauger. "We're still looking into the issue."

The Twain Court-area residents had petitioned the county board of education to be allowed to move to the Saratoga attendance area in 1995 and were denied. They appealed to the state board and were supported in October, but Campbell officials asked the board to reconsider.

It's not the first time Twain Court residents have tried to get the district boundaries changed. Some residents said the state board's vote ended a nearly 20-year struggle.

Suzanne Koenig, a Manteca Way resident, joined many of her neighbors in petitioning the county board 20 years ago. She and other parents wanted their kids to attend school where they lived, in Saratoga. But they were unsuccessful.

Although Koenig's children are now grown, she said she supports the current parents' fight to get into Saratoga's attendance area.

"I'm very, very happy that they were able to accomplish what we could not 20 years ago," she said.

Just what effect the Twain Court victory will have on other residents' cases is not clear. The county is preparing to consider a property transfer petition by residents of Saratoga's Emerald Hills area in June.

The issue has sparked so much debate that the county hired a consultant earlier this year to conduct a study into the issue. The results of the yearlong study, district officials said, are expected to include recommendations for boundary changes.

Campbell Union School District Superintendent Marcia Plumleigh said that although she doesn't anticipate a huge influx of new petitions by Saratogans looking to leave the Campbell district as a result of the Twain Court decision, it wouldn't surprise her.

"I would expect that there would be more," she said.

Hauger said he thought the decision would have little, if any, effect on future petitions.

"There is so much going on right now," he said, "that if it does have an effect, it'll be just a little added on to everything else."

The 53 Twain Court-area residents will vote in November on whether to finalize the boundary change.

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