Breaking News: San Carlos School District Puts Forth New Elementary School Boundaries

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Mark
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November 24th, 2009 at 8:45 pm
I’m confused about the map. I live between Howard and Brittan (on Howard, but on the North side of Howard), but we’re West of Cedar (between Elm and Alameda).
Looking at maps previously published and looking at this chart off othe San Carlos school district site: http://www.sancarlos.k12.ca.us/all_pdf/Registration/SCSD%20Street%20Address%20Listing.pdf, we were included in the White Oaks district (Howard Avenue, between 1100-2199). But this map seems to indicate that we’re in the Brittan Acres district regardless of this change. So is there an official school district map somewhere, and if there is, does it mesh with that pdf linked to on the San Carlos school district site?
Thanks

Hi Mark,
I am a little confused as to your exact location. You said you are West of Cedar, but then you also said you are between Elm and Alameda. Elm, is obviously, east of Cedar.
Also, remember that the district charts currently in place will not reflect this new information because the boundaries stated on the attached map are still just proposals.
Bob

It does appear that Arundel is taking on more of a burden than any of the others. White Oaks gets a decrease, Heather gets an increase. Exactly what they both need. The increase at Brittan Acres is negligible.

Hi Bob,
I would like to point to a few other facts that may change your mind regarding east San Carlos. First, the east side residents currently attend Brittan Acres and its test scores are very similar to Arundel’s test scores. Second, your assumption regarding socio-economic status may not be as firm as you believe. I can tell you that there are many families who have owned their homes in east San Carlos for a long time and have far more equity in their homes than many of the west side San Carlos residents who bought properties with an 80-10-10 loan over the past four years. Finally, I know of many highly educated families that bought in east San Carlos because it was the only place in San Carlos that they could afford. They did so specifically because they value education and wanted their kids to be a part of a school system, similar to what San Carlos currently has today.
Bob

Thanks Bob (Bredel). Clearly, from the comments by both Bob and Debbie, racism is alive and well in San Carlos. Bob (Bredel), I appreciate your willingness to challenge such bigotry.

East Side Rocks!!!

Hi Bob,
all differences aside, I agree special education is the elephant. Unfortunately, that is federally mandated so there is no legal way to make cuts there. Those kids require services so it must be paid. When you look at the budget, you do see that about 12% of the students are special Ed and they cost about 27% to educate. Interestingly, about 50% of those kids at Heather receive special education services. Again, legally there is nothing the district can do to reduce those costs.
Class sizes are going to have to change and the teacher contract will have to be renegotiated because there is no way to cut over a million dollars without laying off teachers. Looks like the district is outsourcing technology support to the city of san Carlos. That will save at least 100k. This week there was some closed session and the topic was dismissal of staff so some layoffs have been decided.
Of course, the 1.3 million in cuts is if SCEF can raise at least 1.4 million and there are no more state cuts. The district business office at the last meeting said to expect additional revenue cuts from the state. That will require an additional 300k in cuts on top of the original 1.3 million.
No matter how you look at it, jobs will be eliminated–whether is is counselors or district staff or assistant principals or teachers. Reckoning is upon us.
The silver bullet will be the superintendent. He said he can raise 750k this year outside of SCEF. Let’s hope he does…

Hi Bob-
HOw long do you think these boundaries will be inplace before new cahnges are made? I live on Elm between Howard and Belmont (still White Oaks), but at the edge of White Oaks, and I am worried about a future shift.
Also, do you think this will improve values in White Oaks?
Thanks for your insight.

Hi Mark,
I attended the community meeting last night with the Superintendent which filled in some of the holes. First, these are proposed boundaries. This proposal will go before the school board. The school board will then discuss whether to implement. My feeling is that they will based upon what I know so far. The main goal with this slight realignment is to re-balance the schools. There are obvious impacting issues at White Oaks, and a shortage of students at Heather. Rather than just exchange streets between those two schools, the district thought it was better to do a shift involving all four elementary schools in order to give as much of a neighborhood feel as possible to each school. My impression is that the district feels strongly that there will be no need for any changes to the proposed changes in the near future.
I think the impact on property values for White Oaks is negligible.
Bob

This is a terrible plan with far reaching implications for all of San Carlos. If this plan is put into place neighborhood schools will be a thing of the past for many SC residents. My neighborhood (lower Devonshire) is being divided and many of us in an easy walk to Arundel will be forced to drive. Little to no care has been given to the “natural” dividing lines between neighborhoods such as topography and major streets. I moved from San Francisco (a city with a lottery and no neighborhood schools) specifically for the community spirit of San Carlos, the strong and vibrant school district, and the ability to walk to the neighborhood school. This plan disrupts neighborhoods, relationships between kids and families. We purchased our home two years ago. Knowing that we would be that we would be cut off from the rest the neighborhood and forced to drive away from our neighborhood school to another would have kept us from buying our current home. Property values in the affected areas will diminish.
The worst thing about this may ultimately be the process itself. I find the timing of the release of the proposal (the Wed before Thanksgiving) and the forthcoming board vote on Dec 10 suspicious. It is hard not to see this as a device to push the proposal through without input from the community.

Hi Kristin,
Thanks for your post. If I am being 100% honest, yes, I think you have a valid point. When this map first came out, I had the same thought. I know that the district is in a very tough situation and is trying very hard to come up with a fair solution. However, when looking at the map of proposed changes, I think everyone either benefits or has a negligible change with the exception of those streets slated for a change from Arundel to Heather. Many folks on those streets bought their homes believing they would end up at Arundel, especially since Arundel was not impacted. Fair or not, Heather trails the other elementary schools by approximately 50 points on the API table. And, yes, it is true that APIs do not tell the whole story…however, for resale, they are everything. So your point regarding property values is very much on the money.
Bob

My husband and I recently moved to the Laureola area of San Carlos. We are also new parents to a baby boy and I attended the town hall meeting on Monday as well. I must say it was an eye opener to me as to how some people view homeowners of Eastern San Carlos. Even though our child will not be entering school for some time – my husband and I are committed to the community and to San Carlos. We can only hope the sentiment that kids from the “Eastside” will bring down API scores or affect Arundel in some negative way will go away. I was not real clear on why other residents would turn their noses to the children of Laureola families attending “their” schools. It seems unfounded. Many of the chidren have been attending Brittan Acres and their API scores are at 907 this past year. Where as Arundel is at 917. Fairly close to each other. White Oaks was at 913. Such a small margin between schools. And for Heather at 861- maybe the lowest of the schools -but still equally important. If more needs to be done there- then it’s an opportunity to do good work. I have worked at various school districts myself in high achieving areas such as Cupertino Union School District and Saratoga – and even in low income areas in L.A. I have found that parent participation, good educational leadership and great teachers really goes a long way to the morale of a school and its community.
We bought a house in the area for various reasons – and after having done my homework in the surrounding areas – San Carlos School District as a whole has been getting positive comments from the community. I am not convinced however that changing boundaries will significantly affect home values. Where is the evidence of that? It hasn’t even happened yet? As far as I can see…SCSD has API scores that are in the high 800’s to 900’s range which is very good. In comparison to other more affluent areas of the Peninsula like Menlo Park ESD at 934, Portola Valley at 947, Hillsborough at 962, Burlingame at 901, and Woodside at 933…SCSD is still in line with those.
I know that change is alway difficult but I am much more optimistic that children are very resilient and can maintain friendships in their neighborhoods or outside. I also remain optimistic that as the economy slowly gets better – property values will increase, not decrease.
I advocate for the Laureola community and hope that other residents of San Carlos be more welcoming of it’s neighbors that reside between Old County and Industrial Roads. We have children too, we care about their education just like every other parent out there.

Raquel,
Thank you for your well written post. I completely agree with you. My daughter currently attends Brittan Acres along with the “east side” students and I will tell you that some of the families we know from the east side are some of the most involved, enthusiastic members of the Brittan Acres family. The preconceived notions about the east side are completely out of line.
One of the most striking things that I have encountered since starting this blog is the attitude of some regarding east San Carlos. It’s easy to generalize, but few making those types of comments regarding the east side are actually informed about the facts surrounding it. Splitting San Carlos in two, does not benefit the city as a whole.
I do not believe that the east side students attending a particular school will be responsible for altering its API. However, as mentioned in a previous post, above, the value of the homes once zoned for Arundel, and now zoned for Heather will face some type of diminution in value. You would be amazed at how zeroed in on APIs buyers have become. As mentioned in several other posts…APIs are not a fair assessment of the school as a whole, but they are everything when it comes to value of the homes in the particular neighborhood.
Thanks again for the post.
Bob

I agree Racquel. As a homeowner on McCue Avenue, I am also shocked by some of the responses that are just ignorant. One of the things I discovered about Laureola Park is that the families are intelligent, care about their kids and work hard to be successful. I love the area because we are so close to everything.
Thanks for speaking up for us.
Derek

I am very glad to see a few of the east side SC folks this blog. I was just thinking today that I should try to find the east side blog, to apologize. I heard that there is one?
I attended the meeting the other night and have read the earlier postings here. I am in the Arundel/Devonshire neighborhood affected by these changes. I just wanted to say to you all that many of the Arundel folks were VERY upset by some of the things said by a few at the meeting, similar things to some of the comments here that were way out of line. Truly awful and many of us are sickened by it.
I was busy worrying about my own neighborhood plight and hadn’t even considered the rest of town until that meeting. I think of all of us the eastside is the most unfairly treated by this proposal. The east side is being tossed around like a football and will now end up having to drive all the way up to Tierra Linda when the kids go to middle school. It is a great school, but definitely not convenient. I and many others believe that the school district has not done appropriate research concerning safety and traffic issues. My neighborhood may be losing our local school and forced to drive instead of walk. (this is a much bigger issue than test scores). Eastside families will be driving San Carlos Ave adding to already difficult traffic problems on that street. Arundel is the most dangerous of our schools in terms of traffic, Phelps and Arundel roads are narrow, crowded, and without sidewalks.
I have a toddler at Wonder Years Preschool on the San Carlos/Belmont border next to Carlmont. Carlmont, two preschools, Central and TL are all on the same general corner. Getting in and out of there is a nightmare!
A member of the school board said that only 20 students next year will be coming from the east side. That may not seem like much but 15-20 more cars going up dangerous Phelps is quite a lot. What about the future? I have a hard time imagining that any consideration or study of future traffic patterns has been done, considering that the district is having a tough time figuring out the incoming kindergarten class for next year.
The district is in the midst of a serious financial crisis. Unfortunately, to put this plan into action safely and without impact upon traffic the district must address safety upgrades along San Carlos Ave and Phelps. Perhaps a school bus to Arundel and TL? It is terrible that there isn’t a neighborhood school on the east side.