Addison boundary change recommended

School boundary changes are in the works for some families in the Addison Elementary School neighborhood as well as for high school students living at Stanford West or in the Oak Creek Apartments.

Crowding at Addison in recent years has led school officials to recommend changing the attendance boundary between Addison and Walter Hays Elementary School.

Administrators said they have met with parents and principals at both schools and that “there is general agreement that this change would be helpful.”

The Board of Education discussed the proposed Addison boundary change, as well as other recommendations on facilities and enrollment, in a special meeting Thrusday morning, April 26.

Officials also are recommending that students from Stanford West and Oak Creek in the future be assigned to Gunn High School, along with their classmates from Terman Middle School.

When the new Stanford West complex opened its doors several years ago, high school students living there were assigned to Paly because of crowding at Gunn. Now there’s more room at Gunn, and Stanford West and Oak Creek students should have the opportunity to go there with their peers from middle school, officials said.

On the larger questions of whether to tackle recent enrollment growth by committing to a 13th elementary school or a fourth middle school, school officials are recommending a cautious approach.

Early indicators of Palo Alto kindergarten enrollment this fall appear to be “soft” or falling, causing them to suggest postponing for at least a year any decision on opening a 13th elementary school.

And rather than embarking just yet on a fourth middle school, administrators recommend squeezing potential extra students into Jordan and Jane Lathrop Stanford middle schools. They primarily cite budget concerns, including potential loss of the City of Palo Alto’s $7 million-a-year lease of Cubberley, which is up for renewal in 2014.

By Chris Kenrick

By Chris Kenrick

By Chris Kenrick