By Barbara Wood
As the Portola Valley School District’s board ponders major decisions with long-term implications in coming months — including a master plan for upgrading the district’s facilities and a possible bond measure — the board will have no more than two veteran members after November.
Four of the five board seats will be filled this year: three by election in November and one by appointment Oct. 25. Only one incumbent, Karen Tate, is running. Incumbent Gulliver La Valle’s term ends in December 2019.
The school board voted Sept. 27 to appoint someone to replace Jennifer Youstra, who resigned Sept. 8 without a public explanation and with more than two years left in her term. The earliest month to schedule a special election would have been April 2018.
The appointment will be the first item on the Oct. 25 open session board agenda. The candidates will be interviewed in public at the meeting. By law, the appointment vote must also be made public. The appointee will be sworn in immediately after the appointment.
Deadline to apply is Wednesday, Oct. 18.
The district is in the midst of updating its facilities master plan. A draft plan presented in September has projects ranging from new and renovated facilities to outdoor education and gathering spaces, and items to improve school safety, security and parking. Projects at Ormondale School total $30.2 million with $42.2 million of projects for Corte Madera School.
Polling is underway to gauge interest in a bond measure that could pay for some of the master plan projects. The polling results will be discussed at the board’s Oct. 25 and Nov. 15 meetings.
Superintendent Eric Hartwig said the school board will tune the draft facilities master plan at meetings between now and February, analyzing what projects are most needed and what the community will support, he said, and taking public comment.
The deadline to put a bond measure on the June 5 ballot is March 9.
The board has already investigated changing the configuration of grades on the district’s two campuses or combining both schools onto one campus and decided to keep the current configuration, the superintendent said.
Ms. Youstra’s resignation leaves the district in an unusual situation. The November election for three board seats has four candidates: incumbent Ms. Tate, plus three district parents active in the schools: Karyn Bechtel, a community volunteer from Woodside; Jeff Klugman, a retired software executive; and Michael Maffia, an investor and developer.
Superintendent Eric Hartwig said the district has been told that if one of the candidates applies and is appointed, but later wins a seat in the November election, she or he would have to resign from the appointed seat and take the new seat, leaving the district with a board seat still to fill.
State law requires school board members live in the district, which includes most of the town of Portola Valley and a small section of Woodside off Mountain Home and Portola Roads, be a registered voter and not a current school district employee.
The board usually meets on the third Wednesday of the month, with the open session starting at 6 p.m., in Room 201 of Corte Madera School, 4575 Alpine Road in Portola Valley.
The district has previously passed two bond measures: a $17 million measure in 1998 with a 77.3 percent “yes” vote, and a $6 million measure in November 2001 with a 73.4 percent “yes” vote. The second measure was needed to complete construction projects started under the first bond measure after construction costs inflated.
A district report says $15.05 million is still owed on outstanding bonds, due to be paid off by 2029.
At is.gd/appoint, the Almanac’s online story has links to documents including the school board appointment application and two drafts of the facilities master plan.
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