No priority for teachers' kids No priority for teachers' kids (December 23, 2005)

Fear of lawsuits drives school board decision

By Molly Tanenbaum

Despite pleas from teachers and community members, the Mountain View-Whisman school board decided last week against giving children of teachers more priority for spots in the district.

A compromise proposal to give out-of-district kids of staff a slight edge over other out-of district students passed on a 3-1 vote, with RoseMary Roquero abstaining, but the move did not satisfy those who came to the meeting to speak out on the issue.

"My heart is with the teachers but my cold, cold brain says I can't see putting ourselves in the position to be sued," said trustee Ellen Wheeler, who took a strong stance against changing the staff enrollment priority because she said it might open the district up to a legal challenge.

"Two words: Aaron Katz," she explained, referring to the $150,000 the district has set aside for legal fees to defend their parcel tax against the Saratoga lawyer. Katz claims he should not pay taxes on his Mountain View properties unless he gets to vote on the taxation measure.

The closing of Slater School has brought this dilemma and other issues about enrollment and transportation to the fore. Though overall district enrollment is down, Slater's closure will force other school to accomodate additional students. Spots for out-of-district transfer students may be harder to come by.

"I was very disappointed that we weren't able to find a solution with the information that was given to the board," said Allison White, a Huff teacher who spoke at the Dec. 15 board meeting. White commutes from San Mateo with her two daughters who attend Huff and Monta Loma.

White said she respected the board's decision, but is concerned because the crunch from the loss of Slater may mean that White's second grade daughter will be forced to transfer out of Huff next fall.

California's educational code does not mention giving preference to children of staff, according to Stephanie Totter, director of administrative services, who explained her understanding of the policies to the board. Accordingly, a parent could potentially sue the district if the staff child took up the space of a district student who wanted to enroll at that school.

Totter also noted that, in the history of the district, no staff member has ever been denied placement for their child-it just might be at a different school from where they work.

White says there are not many teachers in the district for whom this is an issue-some live in the district and thus have a higher priority already, while many others do not have elementary-aged children.

But for White, prioritizing children of staff in the enrollment policy communicates to teachers and prospective teachers that the district values its employees. Additionally, she believes teachers will give more time to their students and schools if their kids can come to school with them.

"If staff have to commute to get home with their kids, they're probably not going to spend as much time around the district," White said, addressing the school board.

Slater's closure has prompted the board to spell out priority rankings for enrollment for the first time for kids in the district and out-of-district transfers for the first time. Students who seek to attend their neighborhood school receive top priority, then transfers from within the district, and finally the out-of-district students.

In the end, the board reached two compromises. Wheeler proposed giving out-of-district staff members a slight advantage over other out-of district students, and the board approved that policy change at the end of a near-six-hour meeting with Roquero abstaining and a no-vote from Kruss.

The other compromise is a plan to move up the enrollment timeline for out-of-district transfer students, so that out-of-district staff members will know their children's assignments earlier than June 1.

That plan to move up the enrollment timeline will be discussed at a later meeting.

At the meeting, the board gave final approval to the new enrollment, transportation and boundary policies created as a result of Slater School's upcoming closure in June, with few tweaks to what trustees affirmed at the meeting a week earlier.

One adjustment to the boundary policy addressed parent complaints about Slater kids living in the "Monta Loma Triangle" neighborhood bordered by Tyrella Avenue, Middlefield Road and Bayshore Freeway.

Under the new policy, they have been assigned to the distant Monta Loma School next year, instead of the closer Landels. Space permitting, Monta Loma Triangle children will have the option to attend Landels or Theuerkauf instead of Monta Loma.
E-mail Molly Tanenbaum at mtanenbaum@mv-voice.com

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