Now residents are facing a similar situation again, and they aren't too happy about it.

"I would be devastated to divide our neighborhood between different schools," said one parent of an incoming kindergartner at the April 8 Los Gatos Union School District board meeting. The shift would cause "carpooling issues, friendship issues" and divide the residents, she said.

District officials have proposed to move some new students from the area from Blossom Hill School to Daves Avenue School. The homes impacted are between Winchester Boulevard and Highway 17, bound by Vasona Reservoir on the south and all the way up to where the town ends on the north.

Although enrollment in the district's five schools is declining, officials are proposing the shift in order to even out the student population from school to school.

"There's nobody on this board that is trying to disrupt a community," said Dorothy Rouse, board clerk. Rouse said, however, that it is impossible to predict the pattern of growth in different areas of the community.

According to Superintendent Mary Ann Park, the proposal is to take all incoming new students in the area without siblings already at Blossom Hill and enroll them in Daves. Any students that have siblings at Blossom Hill or are already enrolled there will not be forced to transfer.

"Historically, we've tried to keep families together and not to disrupt," Rouse said. The school district would also give other students the option to transfer from Blossom Hill to Daves.

The move would even out the student-to-classroom ratio at both schools, Park said. While Van Meter Elementary School could be included in the proposed boundary changes, the board wanted to wait until after construction is completed to make enrollment changes.

With current data, Blossom Hill will have 70 more students next year than Daves and 270 more than Van Meter.

"There is an issue of equalization," said board President Tina Orsi-Hartigan. Orsi-Hartigan said the district wanted to make sure all students have equal opportunities through facility availability and staff attention.

"With the financial situation, we have to look at coming as close to 20:1 [as a student-teacher ratio] as we can in the primary grades," Rouse added.

Board members said they themselves had either seen several boundary shifts occur through the years or had been involved in such shifts.

"What's going to happen five to 10 years from now when the numbers flip? Are we going to be asked to change again?" inquired one resident.

"What we're trying to do is minimize the growth at Blossom Hill," Orsi-Hartigan said.

Board member Alex Granas said, however, that he did not see the need for the boundary change. Granas said next year the schools will face lower enrollment and fewer programs due to budget cuts, decreasing overcrowding. Granas also pointed out that Blossom Hill is built for more students than Daves is.

Resident Wayne Tang also brought an official chart that showed each school in the district had declining enrollment, asking why overcrowding was an issue.

District officials replied that Blossom Hill had a slower rate in declining enrollment than Van Meter or Daves.

Parent Nani Daniels said, "I'm not sure I understand how to make that move now," with construction going on at Van Meter and slated to begin at Daves and Blossom Hill within the next two years.

Orsi-Hartigan emphasized that the board is still considering the shift; if board members decide to pursue the idea, there will be an action item that will lead to either a rejection of the proposal or a public hearing on it.