High School District to Discuss the "B" Word

In a letter sent home to parents and guardians of students in the Sequoia Union High School District on Thursday, Superintendent James Lianides invited input from families in the district on some proposed changes for the district at a series of community meetings.

Lianides and the SUHSD board of trustees will host six community meetings over the next month to discuss the framework for a possible boundary change within the district.

The first community meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 7th at Sequoia High School in Redwood City at Carrington Hall at 7:00 pm.

According to the letter, boundary changes would ensure that all four high schools (Carlmont, Menlo-Atherton, Sequoia, and Woodside) would have an enrollment reasonably close to the district average.

By 2020, Carlmont is projected to average 2,600 students, making it the school with the highest enrollment. (Its current enrollment is 2,122.)

In his letter, Lianides said the growing number of students comes mostly from Belmont, Redwood Shores, San Carlos and Menlo Park.

The superintendent also says that since that the last time boundaries in the district were drawn was in the 1980s, and if the district does nothing to address the projected growth, the number of students will increase unevenly in the different high schools.

To view current SUHSD boundaries by high school (based on home address), click here:

http://www.schvision.com/schoolfinder3/SUHSD/

The SUHSD set forth four tenets at its last meeting to establish a framework to guide the development of any boundary map changes. Those tenets are:

(1)  Ensuring that all four comprehensive high schools will have an enrollment reasonably close to the district average.

(2)  Preserving communities and strengthen relationships between feeder schools and high schools.  We will accomplish this by limiting the number of high school students from a partner middle school attend to no more than two.

(3) Seeking ways to maintain diversity at Carlmont High School.

(4) Continuing an open enrollment policy as an important part of the parent decision making process within the context of each school’s physical capacity and overall district balance.

A second set of meetings will be held in the fall as the board narrows its consideration of a construction plan and potential boundary maps.

A San Carlos blogger Bob Bredel has outlined the district's boundary change consideration in his latest post.  Click here to read Bredel's posting on on San Carlos Blog, Inc.

To read the letter from the superintendent, click here.

To view current SUHSD boundaries by high school (based on home address), click here:

http://www.schvision.com/schoolfinder3/SUHSD/

More on Belmont and San Carlos Patch:

• Op-Ed: Nesbit Exemplifies the Spirit of Excellence
• Belmont Bank Robber Makes Off With Cash
• Belmont Man Beaten Near Lariat Tavern in Critical Condition

• New Chapter Begins for San Carlos Library
• New Homes For Sale in San Carlos This Week