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Voters say 'no' to Moreland's takeover of local high schools
By Steve Enders
Area voters have rejected a proposal by the Moreland School District to take over control of two high schools in the Campbell Union High School District, including Saratoga's Prospect High and Blackford High School, a continuation school in San Jose.
In the rare election, 54 percent of voters in the Moreland School District in West San Jose said "no" to Measure A, which offered a Moreland unified school district instead of the current setup where students change districts upon entering high school.
Moreland would have taken over the area in which its students attend Campbell Union's high schools. If approved, the measure would have taken effect for the fall 2000 school year.
Only about 30 percent of all registered voters in the district turned out at the polls for the June 8 election. About 100 students living in Saratoga attend Prospect, and a small number attend Moreland schools; 264 Saratogans attend schools in the Moreland School District.
"We're ecstatic," Prospect High School teacher Royce Peterson said. "It's well known that we present a good program. The community, the teachers and the students worked hard in defeating this hostile takeover. They realize this is a great school."
Peterson was instrumental in the drive against the proposition, and serves as president of the Campbell Education Association. "Moreland offered no specifics about their programs," he said. "Nobody wants to risk the unknown."
The election result was a victory for Prospect teachers and the Campbell Union High School District; it marked the end of a long, hard-fought drive since 1994 by Moreland parents to consolidate the districts.
The state mandated that the district hold the election after parents petitioned the county and the state for its reorganization. Both the Santa Clara County Committee on School District Organization and the state Board of Education gave the plan an OK, thus bringing it to a vote.
Last month, most Prospect teachers and athletics coaches threatened to leave the high school if Measure A was approved. If it had passed, tenured teachers would have been given the opportunity to stay at the high school or find other positions in the CUHSD. There was no such guarantee for non-tenured employees.
Arguments shot back and forth before the election between the two sides, with Measure A supporters alleging untruths and false information being distributed by the opponents.
Supporters said that homes around Prospect and Blackford would have seen increased property values, while students would get smaller classrooms and would have a chance at an improved education.
Opponents of the measure said that it would have meant additional and unnecessary bureaucracy, the loss of advanced placement courses and said it offered no plan for continuing athletics programs.
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Saratoga, California Since 1975
