Los Altos trustees direct staff to plan for Bullis Charter School at San Antonio site; motion passes 4–1

The Los Altos School District Board of Trustees voted to direct staff to plan to allocate the district's San Antonio site to Bullis Charter School (BCS) as the first occupant when construction is complete for the 2028'29 school year.

Superintendent McGonigal introduced the item as a planning directive and framed it as an effort to balance neighborhood needs, the district's facilities master plan and long-running challenges including overcrowding at junior high campuses and aging portables. McGonigal said the recommendation is to "plan to allocate facilities for BCS at the San Antonio site, considering BCS as the first occupant starting in the 28/29 school year when the school is ready." (Superintendent McGonigal).

The board heard roughly 20 minutes of public comment. Danielle James, a former LASD parent, said, "For the proposal for the tenth site, I would be in favor of putting BCS TK through 5 on the San Antonio site" and argued the community engagement process before the pandemic showed broad support for placing BCS there. Sang Guru, a former board member and parent, urged placing classroom capacity closer to northern parts of the district. A parent who identified as Pepe Yu urged the board to move BCS to the new permanent facility so LASD can modernize existing campuses.

Board members discussed the district's two-decade process around the site, the impacts of falling enrollment and the transfer-of-development-rights (TDR) agreement with Mountain View that helped finance the purchase. Several trustees said they were disappointed that BCS representatives did not attend the meeting.

Trustee Ryan moved to approve staff's recommendation to plan to allocate facilities for BCS at the San Antonio site; Trustee Estella seconded. The motion passed 4'1 (4 yes, 1 no). The action is a direction to staff to begin planning; any formal facility assignment under Prop 39 or a negotiated agreement would be a later, separate step.

What the board decided and what it did not

The board's vote was a directive to staff to plan and to begin the studies and negotiations needed to place BCS at the district-owned site in 2028'29. It did not legally transfer ownership of the site or finalize grade spans for BCS; the superintendent and staff noted final details depend on future negotiations and the Prop 39 process if that path is used.

Board members asked staff to study capacity, grade-span impacts and financial implications for a second smaller BCS campus or other district uses and to return with specific recommendations in a future report.

Background and next steps

The San Antonio site was purchased in partnership with the city of Mountain View; COVID-related delays shifted timelines and prompted recent extensions to the TDR program. The district estimates the new San Antonio campus will be designed to serve roughly 600 students and be flexible for multiple grade configurations. Staff indicated further studies will include capacity and finance analyses for potential companion campuses and grade-level recommendations before an official facilities allocation is finalized.

The board took no additional action on enrollment boundary changes, Prop 39 procedures or final facility assignments at this meeting.