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Los Altos School District board member Vladimir Ivanovic is resigning his seat over disagreements with his fellow board members’ decisions regarding Bullis Charter School and the 10th site campus.
I was elected in opposition to BCS, and I’m resigning in opposition to BCS.
Vladimir Ivanovic, Los Altos School District board member
Ivanovic announced his resignation – effective March 11 – at a Jan. 12 meeting, noting that he doesn’t feel he can support the board’s actions. This fall, the school board voted 4-1, with Ivanovic dissenting, to pursue allocating its yet-to-be-built campus in Mountain View’s San Antonio Shopping Center to Bullis upon its completion.
Ivanovic believes that this move will unfairly privilege the charter school over district schools by giving it the newest facilities, impose a significant tax burden on local households and jeopardize public support for future bond measures. He’s been considering stepping down for the last six months, Ivanovic told the Voice this week.
“This is not something that I decided on the spur of the moment,” Ivanovic said. “I’ve been ruminating about this for quite a while … because I’ve known that this is the direction the board is going in.”
The Los Altos School District purchased 11.7 acres in the San Antonio Shopping Center in 2019 in the hopes of building an additional campus, but deciding which school to place there has proven to be difficult and controversial for years now. District parents have previously opposed plans to move Egan Junior High School to the new site and Bullis officials have similarly objected to moving there themselves.
Deferring his resignation date – and considering returning to the board
With his resignation deferred for roughly two months, Ivanovic hopes to use his remaining time on the board to attend PTA meetings at all the district’s schools. At those meetings, he plans to explain his decision to parents and gauge their support for his viewpoint.
If, after explaining his rationale, parents don’t seem to agree with him, Ivanovic said that he will “go off in the distance and disappear.” On the other hand, if his reasoning garners support from parents, Ivanovic said he will consider calling for an election to fill his seat – and run for that spot himself.
Under California law, the school board can decide to either appoint someone to replace Ivanovic or order an election. Either way, the person who fills his seat would only do so until his term expires at the end of this year. The board is expected to vote on which path to take on Monday, Jan. 26.
In the event that the board appoints someone, Ivanovic could use a provision of state law that allows a registered voter to petition for an election to fill a board vacancy. He would need to submit signatures from 1.5% of the registered voters in the district to force a special election.
Ivanovic was first elected to the school board in 2014. At the time, he had heard that Bullis Charter School was aiming to use Gardner Bullis Elementary School’s campus, which he strongly opposed during his campaign.
“I have spent the last 11 years many, many times opposing Bullis Charter School,” Ivanovic said. “I was elected in opposition to BCS, and I’m resigning in opposition to BCS. I personally don’t care about BCS. I don’t care if it’s successful or not successful. I don’t care if it’s the best school in California or the worst. But, I do care about LASD, and right now, Bullis Charter School has a negative effect on LASD.”
When asked for comment on Ivanovic’s resignation from the school board, Los Altos School District Superintendent Sandra McGonagle said that she’s grateful for his many years of “dedicated service” to the school district as a trustee.
Ivanovic’s resignation announcement came after a Dec. 15 meeting, at which the board performed its annual reorganization, picking a new president, vice president and clerk. During the meeting, Ivanovic nominated himself to be board president but only received support from one other board member, Bryan Johnson.
Fellow trustees expressed concerns about Ivanovic’s ability to back up board decisions to the public in the event that he disagreed with them. Ultimately, the board voted, with Ivanovic abstaining, to appoint Vaishali Sirkay for a second term as president.
Ivanovic told the Voice that the board rejecting his nomination of himself to be president for the second year in a row was the “final straw” in his decision to resign.
“Just because somebody, personally or as a voting member, opposes a particular action, they shouldn’t be punished for that,” Ivanovic said.
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As someone with firsthand experience working near the San Antonio Shopping Center, I’m concerned that this isn’t the right environment for a school. The area is prone to heavy traffic congestion and has a high concentration of homeless individuals, both of which raise serious safety questions. My experience suggests that the surrounding distractions will make it very difficult to keep students safely on campus and focused.
This man is confusing. He resigned but is open to going back?
When choosing a school for my children after having moved to the Los Altos area 4 years ago, this sentiment from the board was truly a huge factor in me choosing BCS over LASD. I am sure the LASD teachers are wonderful, and I KNOW the parents are wonderful. What I wish the LASD board realized is that not caring about BCS is also not caring about LASD, because there are families who have some children at an LASD school, and their other children at BCS. There are also LASD families who move to BCS and BCS families who move to LASD, because it is the best fit for their children. Also, LASD and BCS students often end up going to the same high schools. We are ONE beautiful community, and I am sure many members of the community are fed up with politics dividing it.
This should be a wake-up call for LASD voters who were duped by an expensive marketing campaign into voting for Measure EE last year. The tax burden from this bond measure is massive. $500 million to purchase the 10th site and build a BCS campus when principal and interest are included. $500 million for a 10th campus in an unsuitable location for a school and not needed due to district-wide declining enrollment.