Preserve Portola Valley - support the Priory Preserve Portola Valley - support the Priory (May 12, 2004)

Editor:

Portola Valley's only high school is a precious reminder of our rural origins and carries the name Woodside Priory in token of this area's name from when it was founded by Benedictine monks more than 50 years ago.

Recent articles and letters about this important community institution may have left some misleading impressions. For example, one letter implied that the Priory was a "special interest group." Comments at a recehnt Town Council meeting stated that the Priory was an "expanding business." I find this characterization quite bewildering and quite contrary to my experiences and the public record.

The Priory is a non-profit educational and religious community that serves our town but also has a larger regional and international scope. As a long-term resident of Portola Valley, where my daughter has attended our excellent public schools, my first experience of the Priory was Camp Unique. We also made good use of the playing fields with AYSO soccer.

My child is now a high school student and I have had a chance to learn more about the Priory community. The headmaster, Tim Molak, genuinely sets out to maintain a caring scholastic environment. It is the "school where everybody knows your name."

The school creates a principled environment that is concerned with both the academic and spiritual life of each individual. A broad, enlightened view is taken of spirituality, with the school welcoming students of all faiths. The school has a strong reputation with leading universities all over the country. The school has the reach to draw 40 international boarders, primarily from Asia.

Important institutions must adapt and change with the world, or wither. In 1969, the town gave the Priory a conditional use permit for 250 students, with up to 50 monks and 12 lay faculty. This 35-year-old plan had approximately eight individuals per acre. The school has changed with the intervening generations - it is now coeducational and the number of monks has fallen to five.

Various facilities have been built and changed, all following standard planning procedures and registered with the town. The land available to the school has been expanded. The school strives to respond to regional demands for a quality education and also to be an excellent neighbor.

The school reduces vehicle traffic by providing a van service to Menlo Park and is able to accommodate parents and visitors with on-site parking with no back-up on Portola Road. In order to be able to retain excellent faculty and staff, the school has provided some on-site residential accommodation. These homes pay a full taxation load to the town and support our local public schools.

There are now about 340 students, with more than 60 from Portola Valley. The total number of individuals on campus is about 445 leading to a density of just under 9 per acre. This is a very modest increase over the original 1969 conditional usage plan. The school has provided these population numbers whenever requested by the town.

The allusion at the Town Council to an "expanding business" may come from a misinterpretation of the Priory's proposal to build a "performing arts center." This is not a Broadway theatre house, but merely an enhanced stage and seating area plus classrooms and other facilities to serve the campus community and expand the stage and musical opportunities for performing arts students. It will not be rented out to outside groups, but the school has said it could make it available to the town if requested.

The Priory has retained its educational and spiritual mission over 50 years and adapted to enormous social change. It is a vital part of what makes Portola Valley a very special place to live. By encouraging and supporting the Priory in its goal to remain an attractive, vibrant educational and spiritual community, we will also be preserving the best features of Portola Valley.

Richard Swan
Ramona Road, Portola Valley

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