Ask the Superintendent

As the Board of Trustees and I face the complex challenges of providing facilities for Bullis Charter School next year, our community has asked the question: “What is mediation and what do you hope mediation with the charter school will accomplish?”

First and foremost, the Los Altos School District Board of Trustees, our community and I want peace and a long term agreement with the charter school so that we can focus on what we do best:  provide an exemplary education for our students.  As the charter school has grown over the years, the Board and I believe an enrollment cap is an essential component of any agreement to protect our neighborhood schools in the long term.  We believe mediation could achieve an enrollment cap and avoid the historically litigious and expensive disagreements with Bullis over facilities.  Click here for more information on this history.

Mediation is a dispute resolution process in which both parties voluntarily meet with the assistance of a trained, impartial third-party in a confidential setting in which the parties are free to speak candidly about their objectives and needs, exploring an agreement that both sides find beneficial.

We are working through mediation on a parallel track to the Proposition 39 process, which provides guidelines for facilities allocation to charter schools. As our mediation ensues, we have mutually agreed to delay the upcoming deadline by an additional two weeks (until April 1) with the hope that mediation will instead result in a concept for a long term agreement that will make the Proposition 39 process unnecessary.

I am hopeful that through mediation followed by a robust and transparent public input process, our community can achieve a long term agreement that will bring peace and stability to our schools for years to come.

Ask the Superintendent is a monthly column through which I will answer a question from the community.  Please email jbaier@lasdschools.org with your questions.  All questions will remain anonymous.

Regards,

Jeffrey Baier