Lakeside is a small, mountain school district that has too few students to have its own middle school, so a handful of its students are sent every year to Raymond J. Fisher Middle School in Los Gatos.

The arrangement has worked well until now. This year, the Los Gatos district slipped from being a "revenue-limit" district, meaning they were funded primarily by the state, to a "basic-aid" district, meaning they are now funded mainly by property taxes.

Linda Latasa, LGUSD assistant superintendent of business services, said the Lakeside students are no longer contributing financially to the Los Gatos district's tax base, since Lakeside is also a basic-aid district. Lakeside became a basic-aid district in the 2001­02 school year.

A $4,900-per-pupil fee was jointly suggested and set, which the Lakeside district will pay the Los Gatos district, Latasa said, effective in the fall of 2004. This will cover most of the Los Gatos district's costs to take on students from the Lakeside district.

"The Los Gatos school district is not asking for anything we haven't received before," said Phil Couchee, a LGUSD board member.

The set amount is equivalent to what the Los Gatos district was receiving from Lakeside when it was still a revenue-limit district.

The board made the decision after input during its December board meeting and mutual negotiations reached between LGUSD Board President Dorothy Rouse, LGUSD Superintendent Mary Ann Park, Lakeside Superintendent Joyce Salisbury and Lakeside Board President Parker Stokes.

From the meetings, representatives reached an agreement they felt was fair to both sides, Latasa said. She added this is an agreement that is renegotiated every year. Stokes said he was pleased with the spirit of the negotiations, which were done with the best interests of the students in mind. The Lakeside school board also unanimously approved the agreement at its Feb. 11 meeting.

"There was never any intent on our side not to have [Lakeside] students attend our school district," Park said. "There is always a reimbursement from the sending district to the receiving district."

Since 1988, the Lakeside district has been sending students to Fisher, according to Salisbury. She said Lakeside students wanted more specialized courses such as after-school classes and electives, which Fisher provided.

"There were parents who worked with the school board regarding the evolution of the district," said Salisbury, adding that Lakeside is a K­8 district but currently serves only K­6.

Salisbury also mentioned the possibility of eventually restarting a middle school in the Lakeside district and returning to a K­8 status.

"We would need to study existing programs, and we would certainly need to have parents on board and keep them informed on the different programs that are out there," she said.

The Lakeside district has an enrollment of 110 students. Salisbury added the Lakeside district also has six families whose children attend C.T. English Middle School, which is located off Summit Road in the Santa Cruz mountains and is included in the Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District. Salisbury said they are looking forward to continuing that arrangement, since the students chose to attend this middle school.

In addition, the LGUSD board members voted unanimously to expel an unnamed student for the remainder of the current semester. Park said the student violated a section of the California Education Code related to unlawfully being in possession of, selling or using a controlled substance such as alcohol or drugs. Park said the district will be working with the parents of that student to place the minor in another school in a different district or in a continuation program.

Lakeside Joint School District is currently enrolling kindergartners. For more information, call 408.354.2372. LGUSD is also now accepting new student registration packets. For more information, call 408.335.2000.