Bullis Charter School signs 2013-14 Facilities Use Agreement - but under protest.  BCS & LASD boards to hold sub-committee meetings in attempt to work out differences.  See below for links to recent letters between BCS and LASD.

Email to BCS dated August 12, 2013

LASD Letter to BCS Leadership dated August 12, 2013

BCS Letter to LASD Board of Trustees dated August 14, 2013

LASD Letter to Ken Moore dated August 16, 2013

BCS Letter to Doug Smith dated August 19, 2013

BCS Letter to Doug Smith and Signed Facility Use Agreement dated August 19, 2013

BCS Letter to LASD Board of Trustees dated September 6, 2013

LASD Letter to Joe Hurd dated September 7, 2013

BCS Letter to Doug Smith dated September 9, 2013

LASD Letter, Resolution and Path Forward Agreement to BCS Board dated September 28, 2013

Below is the draft agreement LASD presented to BCS at the joint meeting on Monday.  It is important to note that this document is the beginning of a process of capturing a possible agreement between the parties.  It does not reflect agreed terms, and in fact hasn't been vetted by either board.  It simply represents a starting point.  Mayor Waldeck invited both parties to draft a document, so that is what we have done.  We have our next meeting Wednesday, September 18, at 7pm in the Los Altos Hills town hall again.  We look forward to continuing this discussion with BCS and developing a set of mutually agreeable points to include, and evolving that into the working language in a final document.

This document also contains my personal "talking points" - thoughts I prepared in advance of the meeting.  I've included them so that folks who may read this document without the context of the broader discussion will also have visibility into the District's thinking.  None of this replaces formal Board action, but it is a way for folks to understand what is driving the positions we've laid out.

- Doug Smith

President, LASD Board of Trustees

September 16, 2013 Supplemental Facilities Use Agreement with Talking Points

Los Altos School District Continues To Wait For Bullis Charter School To Accept Offered Facilities

The Los Altos School District continues to make available to Bullis Charter School (BCS) the school facilities that the District previously has offered, but BCS has refused to accept the offered facilities.  Specifically, BCS has repeatedly refused to sign and return the Facilities Use Agreement, a legal document covering the terms of BCS' use of the facilities, that the District needs before it can provide BCS the keys to the facilities.  Under applicable law, BCS has the choice whether to accept District facilities on the terms offered, or it may refuse the facilities and find facilities elsewhere.  BCS’s refusal to sign the Facilities Use Agreement is the legal equivalent of BCS refusing the facilities offer and electing to self-provide facilities. 

To read the full press release, click here.

Links to the complete Facility Use Agreement document:

2013-14 Facility Use Agreement

Exhibits A - B

Exhibits C - I

Judge Rejects Latest Bullis Charter School Legal Challenge

In a succinct two page ruling, Superior Court Judge Mark H. Pierce rejected the latest legal challenge brought by Bullis Charter School (BCS) challenging the Los Altos School District's (LASD) allocation of facilities to the charter school.

Click here to read the full press release.

A full accounting of the BCS litigation can be found on the LASD website.

Court of Appeal Rules for District On Request To Examine Bullis Charter School's Admissions and Fundraising Practices

The Sixth District Court Of Appeal today dismissed Bullis Charter School’s (BCS) appeal from an order of the Santa Clara County Superior Court. In January 2013, the Superior Court upheld a Los Altos School District (LASD) request to examine BCS’s admissions and fundraising practices to determine how those practices should impact BCS’s public school facilities allocations. LASD filed a “request for declaratory relief” in November 2012, which BCS had sought to block. This ruling from the Appellate Court clears the way for the lower court to move forward with that case.

Click here to read the full press release.

Music enriches lives, and LASD is dedicated to offering instrumental music to every 5th-8th grade student who wants to participate. In order to give all students access to quality instruments, LASD will be conducting an instrument drive May 30-June 30. Donating your working used instrument will ensure that all students, regardless of need, will be able to learn about music and be part of a weekly or daily music program at our elementary and junior high schools. Now is the time to clean out those closets, talk to relatives, neighbors, and friends, and put those instruments that are gathering dust into the hands of students eager to learn and be part of a musical group.

• When: May 30-June 30
• Where: Drop off at the Los Altos School District Office, 201 Covington Road, Los Altos, between the hours of 8:00 am -12:00 pm and 1:00 pm -4:00 pm. Donation receipts will be provided.
• What: Working band and orchestra instruments: trumpets, trombones, flutes, clarinets, violins, violas, cellos.

Please refer any questions to Raquel Matteroli, Coordinator of Categorical Programs at rmatteroli@lasdschools.org.

On May 23, 2013, a community meeting was held to discuss the 2013-14 sharing arrangements for Bullis Charter School’s program at Blach Intermediate School.  Click here for the presentation from that meeting.

Los Altos School District Seeks Court's Guidance on Facilities Options for Bullis Charter School

To help guide its evaluation of options for addressing the facilities issues that it must solve, the Los Altos School District has turned to the local courts to provide guidance on whether the District can satisfy its legal obligations to Bullis Charter School ("BCS") by offering a site outside of District boundaries.

Read the full press release here.

Blach Intermediate School Named a 2013 California Distinguished School

State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson has announced that Blach Intermediate School, in the Los Altos School District, is one of 218 public middle and high schools named California Distinguished Schools for their strong commitment and innovative approaches to improving student academic achievement. Only twenty-one middle and high schools in Santa Clara County were honored with this prestigious award this year. Elementary schools and middle schools are awarded in alternating years.

Read the full press release here.

LASD Delivers Final Facilities Offer to Bullis Charter School

At its meeting last night, the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees approved a final facilities offer to Bullis Charter School for the 2013-14 school year. After considering countless hours of community input, this offer is the most generous that the District has ever offered.

Read the full press release here.