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Uploaded: Thursday, February 14, 2013, 7:34 PM
LASD calls for 'pause' in litigation with Bullis
Charter school board chair balks at proposal for 90-day break
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by Nick Veronin
Mountain View Voice Staff
The head of the Los Altos School District's board of has proposed halting all litigation between his district and Bullis Charter School, at least temporarily, so that the two organizations can focus on negotiations. The suggestion appears to be a non-starter with the charter school.
Doug Smith, president of the LASD board, called for a 90-day pause in litigation in a Feb. 14 open letter to BCS Board Chair Ken Moore.
Moore subsequently told the Voice that he does not support the idea.
"Our efforts are completely focused on working with the district on making the split campus work for every district student," Moore said. "Any other requests are just an attempt to delay the process."
Smith's proposal comes after BCS officials announced on Jan. 23 that they would be willing to accept splitting their school between Egan and Blach middle schools, so long as the district agreed to provide some more facilities at each campus.
The announcement garnered a mixed response from LASD officials; Smith, for one, said he felt that the charter school was asking for too much in return for agreeing to the two-site solution. Since then Smith and other district board members have been increasingly vocal in supporting a pause in legislation.
LASD Trustee Mark Goines said he supports the idea of halting legislation because it would allow the district to focus all its energy on coming up with a mutually agreeable solution, without having to worry about the multiple suits currently unfolding in the courts.
"We're all spending an incredible amount of time on (litigation)," Goines said, adding that he would rather spend his time figuring out how to resolve the years-long battle between the district and the charter school. "You can't possibly do both in our view."
Both Goines and Smith said that the ongoing legal battle, more than any other aspect of the two organizations' disagreements, is hanging over the entire process like a dark cloud and creating rancor between the parties. Taking a break from the litigation would help to lift that cloud, they said.
"We're looking for a true show of good faith and good will that they really want to negotiate something," Goines said.
Smith noted that the district has spent a great deal of money fighting in court -- money that should be going into improving local schools. "It's a waste of resources."
Last year alone, Smith estimates, the district spent more than $500,000 on the legal fight with Bullis -- a sum that could have gone to hire four or five teachers.
But Moore, pointing to the suspension of litigation last year, followed by the disintegration of negotiations, said that BCS would not begin to reconsider its current legislation against the district until his organization has received a facilities offer that officials like.
"Last year, around the same time, we stopped litigation and went into mediation, which LASD abandoned," Moore said. "If we can reach an agreement that they can stick with, then we can consider pending litigation."Are you receiving Express, our free daily e-mail edition? See a sample and sign-up for Express.
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Posted by But First, a resident of another community, on Feb 15, 2013 at 6:05 am 1) Lets find out where all this money Bullis has to try and bankrupt LASD is coming from.
2) An independent 3rd party MUST be allowed to investigate the records showing who got accepted to Bullis and ESPECIALLY who did not get accepted...and WHY.
These 2 things scare the pants off everyone who really knows hat Bullis is up to.
Disgusting.
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Posted by Concerned, a resident of another community, on Feb 15, 2013 at 9:57 am While they are investigating who was accepted to Bullis, they should also look at whether or not those families donated money to Bullis BEFORE their child was accepted. This should include mid-year acceptances as well.
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Posted by Parent, a resident of another community, on Feb 15, 2013 at 11:38 am Yep! We know parents in the Los Altos Hills who are in Palo Alto school district who were approached by BCS and told they could get a spot without a problem. We know other families who got in when there was supposedly no spot in a certain grade. They claim their financial records are readily available but try asking to see them and get a copy. No luck! How much are teachers paid? How much of her personal loan has Wanny (principal) paid back? How much do they spend on PR? It's a supposedly public school - show me where my money is going!
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Posted by Ex-IRS, a resident of the Shoreline West neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 1:24 pm We need a FULL ACCOUNTING AUDIT of BCS and their admissions. No more of this BS.
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Posted by Art Wildwood, a resident of the Old Mountain View neighborhood, on Feb 15, 2013 at 6:24 pm I must admit to limited knowledge of how this situation arose but do agree that the charter school movement is overrated to say the least. I would like to know how one could help "detach" the Bullis operation from public funds so it can go its merry way with its own private funding - or fold. I hope other readers of this article will send sensible suggestions for me - and others.
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Posted by BCS Parent, a resident of the Gemello neighborhood, on Feb 17, 2013 at 4:42 pm Now that BCS has offered a compromise we suddenly find that isn't what any of the LASD supporters wanted. Apparently the real goal is to destroy BCS.
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Posted by Parent, a resident of another community, on Feb 17, 2013 at 5:53 pm They didn't offer a compromise- just said they would live with the split IF they got more than LASD is required to provide.
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Posted by We'll Find Out, a resident of another community, on Feb 19, 2013 at 9:34 am Tones from Bullis certainly have calmed once people started demanding a full accounting of their financials and admissions. This info would either prove Bullis is on the "Up and up" or it would prove it is not.
So, lets step up to the plate Bullis. Open the books to a 3rd party accounting firm, let them report their finding and shut everyone up...I dare you.
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