The Lakeside board of trustees met Oct. 27 to discuss a long-range plan for K­8 instruction at the school. While Lakeside is officially a K­8 school, according to Lakeside Principal and Superintendent Joyce Salisbury, seventh- and eighth-graders aren't taught on the school's Black Road campus in the Los Gatos mountains. Since 1988, Lakeside's seventh- and eighth-graders have attended Raymond J. Fisher Middle School under an annually reviewed agreement with Los Gatos Union School District, which includes Fisher.

Until the 2003­04 school year, Salisbury said, the Los Gatos district had been classified as a revenue-limit district, meaning average daily attendance determined by the amount of funding it received from the state. When the Los Gatos district went basic aid—meaning the majority of its revenue comes from property taxes—it changed everything.

The Los Gatos board of trustees terminated its long-standing annual agreement to provide instruction for Lakeside students because Lakeside students were no longer contributing to the Los Gatos district's tax base, since Lakeside is also a basic-aid district. Lakeside has an enrollment of about 100 students. To temporarily remedy the situation in February 2004, Los Gatos board members unanimously decided to continue to provide services to Lakeside's seventh- and eighth-graders for an annual fee of about $4,900 per pupil.

"We will bankrupt this school if we continue to pay for our kids to go to Fisher," said Lakeside board clerk Phil Nelson.

There are approximately 14 students covered under this annually reviewed agreement, and the Los Gatos district has agreed to provide services for those seventh- and eighth-graders through the 2004­05 school year and review the agreement for the eighth-grade students again in 2005­06.

Eight Lakeside seventh-graders have been granted interdistrict transfers to Loma Prieta Joint Union Elementary School District's C.T. English Middle School for 2004­05 and are anticipated to continue there through eighth grade, Salisbury said. Two Lakeside middle school students are receiving services at Saratoga's Redwood Middle School in exchange for two Saratoga students receiving elementary instruction at Lakeside.

Lakeside administrators have been researching the possibilities of providing future middle school educational services for seventh- and eighth-graders at C.T. English or at Rolling Hills Middle School in Los Gatos. The Campbell Union School District, which includes Rolling Hills, has offered to provide services to Lakeside middle school students without a fee. The Campbell district will gain funding for those students through its revenue-limit status. But parents expressed dissatisfaction with the distance between Rolling Hills and the Lakeside community.

"Our responsibility for K­8 means if Rolling Hills is what comes out of this ... then transportation would be an issue," Salisbury said. "It would not be all on the parents' shoulders to get their kids there."

Lakeside board members said they hope to find a long-term solution that is sustainable and predictable and is in the best interest of the students. They listened to more than 20 parents and teachers in the audience voice their concerns with potential solutions.

"This is a decision that impacts the entire community," said Lakeside board President Parker Stokes, encouraging audience members to have an open mind about the discussion.

Board members discussed the possibility of merging or annexing Lakeside over the next three years with other neighboring school districts such as Los Gatos or Loma Prieta. Since Loma Prieta is facing declining enrollment this year, Stokes said, a merger would be a motivating factor for them.

"It's heartbreaking to think about this," said Lakeside parent Becky Levine.

Board members also discussed redistricting or changing their charter of service to K­6 or K­5 status. In addition, board members addressed possibly reinstating K­8 status at Lakeside, Stokes said, which was not favored by the parent community in a recent survey.

"If you don't have the parents with an overwhelming, 'Yeah, let's do it,' why go down that path?" Stokes said.

Parent Ron Lacey said he's hoping the Lakeside board will reach a resolution before Feb. 1, which is the deadline for him to make a down payment on sending his children to a private school, should he not agree with the Lakeside board's decision. Other suggestions brought up during the meeting included parcel-tax or bond-measure elections or changing Lakeside to a charter or magnet school.

Salisbury said the Lakeside board is hoping to have a decision by the end of January or mid-February 2005. Communication about the issue will continue at Lakeside through letters, emails, staff discussion, community input and office hours with Stokes.

Lakeside officials also met Oct. 29 with Los Gatos Union School District Superintendent Mary Ann Park and board President Dorothy Rouse. The Los Gatos district is expected to agendize the topic for discussion at a Nov. 9 meeting, which begins at 6:30 p.m. in the Daves Avenue Elementary School library.

For more information, call the Lakeside Joint School District at 408.354.2372.