On the Road
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Minivans stage a comeback.
Panthers can’t keep pace with Gators.
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www.losaltosonline.com Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Community news for Los Altos, Los Altos Hills and Mountain View since 1947
Budgeting for the future
Vol. 65 No. 6 • 50 cents
City fights ex-student’s lawsuit
Local school district officials grapple with a difficult financial process
By Elliott Burr
Town Crier Staff Writer
C
photos by Elliott Burr/Town Crier
Covington first-grader Tony Jin, above, listens to his teacher’s instructions for a math problem. Los Altos School District Superintendent Jeff Baier, below left, and Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Randy Kenyon pore over budget documents. The district faces a $4.7 million budget deficit annually through 2016.
By Traci Newell
Town Crier Staff Writer
O
ver the next few months, expect to hear and read about local school districts struggling to balance budgets that a state strapped for cash will surely slash. The Los Altos School District is especially vulnerable, facing a larger
deficit than the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District. But how much do residents really understand about why and how school officials make such cuts? The budget process can be complicated to comprehend, particularly when deep cuts are involved. See BUDGET, Page 6
Full steam ahead for new $193 LASD parcel tax By Traci Newell
Town Crier Staff Writer
A
pproximately 40 volunteers gathered last week to kick off the official campaign for the Los Altos School District’s measure that asks voters to approve an additional $193 in parcel-tax fees. The measure is slated for the May 3 all-mail ballot.
In an effort to provide a bridge during the dip in the economy, the district’s board of trustees voted unanimously Jan. 31 to approve the parcel-tax measure, which includes a senior exemption. If passed, the additional tax would last six years. “Our schools do an excellent job of providing a top-quality education for our children,”
Board President Bill Cooper said. “Unfortunately, the past few years have shown us that we can’t Cooper rely on state funding for our local schools. We need an additional, stable source of funding to help retain
our highly qualified teachers and keep our schools strong.” Parcel taxes provide school districts with funding that cannot be appropriated by the state. If 67 percent of voters approve the parcel tax, the measure would subsidize books and classroom materials, retaining teachers and preserving See TAX, Page 22
ity and high school district officials head to trial Monday to defend a false-arrest lawsuit filed in 2007 on behalf of a former Los Altos High School student. Police arrested then-freshman Cesar Enciso in February 2006 for suspected drug use on campus. According to court documents, Enciso claims he was sick, not drunk or high, when an officer and school Enciso administrators interrogated him in the school office. To prove his innocence, he agreed to a drug test, which proved negative. The prosecution claims that Enciso’s arrest lacked probable cause, while the defense maintains the officer acted lawfully. According to her deposition, the arresting officer, Los Altos Police Detective Susan Anderson, a school resource officer at the time, explained to Enciso that because he was a minor, he would have to be arrested before taking the drug test. Enciso alleges Anderson didn’t warn him of the imminent arrest before “kicking” his legs apart, cuffing him and taking him into custody. While Enciso – who, according to court documents, had no history of disciplinary action – alleged false arrest, invasion of privacy, battery and emotional distress, Los Altos See LAWSUIT, Page 5
News
Local libraries could bear brunt of state cuts By Jana Seshadri Town Crier Staff Writer
W
ith a $25 billion state budget deficit and across-the-board cuts looming, Los Altos public library officials can read the writing on the wall. Santa Clara County libraries, which include the Los Altos main and Woodland branches, will likely incur approximately $1.3 million in cuts, according to Jane Cronkhite, Los Altos community librarian. Monies for Transaction-Based Reimbursement, which funds library use by nonresidents, will be eliminated, to the tune of $800,000, she said. Members of the Los Altos Library Commission discussed Gov. Jerry Brown’s proposed budget last week and suggested preliminary steps to minimize or avert the drastic reduction in state funding. “We’re encouraging citizens to communicate to their legislators about how important their library is to them and to encourage continuation of funding,” Cronkhite said. According to Melinda Cervantes, Santa Clara County librarian, Brown plans to eliminate all funding for libraries – $30.4 million statewide. “We’re tightening our belts this fiscal year” as a result, she said. In addition to Los Altos, the cuts would impact other county libraries – Campbell, Cupertino, Gilroy, Milpitas, Morgan Hill and Saratoga – bookmobile service in unincorporated areas of the county and the system’s headquarters in Los Gatos.
LAWSUIT From Page 1
Mayor Ron Packard called the suit “opportunistic” and said that settling could make police officers second-guess their judgment. “I strongly believe nothing whatsoever has been done wrong by school officials and police,” said Packard, an attorney. “I do not want to settle the case and thereby send a chilling effect to our police or school officials about exercising good judgment.” According to documents filed by Enciso’s attorney, Robert Baker, Enciso’s English teacher Lisa Bonanno asked what was wrong after Enciso put his head down on his desk after sixth period. After another student who stayed after the bell suggested Enciso was high on drugs, Bonanno requested that the high school’s Student Conduct Liaison Ron Nelson escort Enciso to the as-
HEIFER From Page 4
Michael Ferreira, the Sierra Club’s Loma Prieta Chapter Conservation Committee chairman, wrote, “At a minimum, we believe that strict adherence to environmental law and regulation
FEBRUARY
&
2011
Birthdays Celebrations February 9
Your family, friends & readers of the Town Crier all wish you a most happy birthday.
Town Crier file photo
A library patron browses the stacks at the Los Altos main library. Santa Clara County libraries could face $1.3 million in cuts.
Love, Guess Who?
The libraries work cooperatively to offer free services for residents and nonresidents alike, Cronkhite said, but elimination of funds could translate to elimination of free services and an increase in fees. Cronkhite said library officials are in the preliminary stages of planning to offset losses. With funding for nonresidents on the chopping block, the libraries may start charging nonresidents a fee for using the library, she added. Last June, voters approved Measure L, a 20-year, $76 annual library parcel tax (increased from the $52 library parcel tax passed in 1990), effective this year and specific to the Los Altos libraries, which will be used to maintain current operating hours and purchase books and materials, she said. Contact Jana Seshadri at janas@latc.com.
sistant principal’s office. Nelson said in a deposition that he didn’t notice anything unusual about Enciso’s behavior at the time. Baker claims in opposition to a motion for summary judgment that Bonanno knew Enciso had been feeling ill and had missed several days of school prior to the event. Baker did not respond to calls requesting comment. Per school policy, Enciso was suspended for five days following the incident. Anderson stated in her deposition that Enciso’s pupils were dilated, his eyes bloodshot and watery, he had a threatening manner and his “mouth was dry and his tongue coated with a whiteyellowish substance, indicative of marijuana.” Los Altos Police Capt. Andy Galea, the department’s public information officer, referred questions to the city’s defense attorney Timothy Schmal, who didn’t re-
turn phone calls requesting comment. Barry Groves, superintendent of the Mountain View Los Altos Union High School District, referred questions to the district’s attorney, John Shupe. “It’s the school district’s position that (Enciso’s) claim doesn’t have merit,” Shupe said. “It’s certainly my position that if we have to, we should try (the case). … Clearly, to his classroom teacher (Bonanno) there was something wrong. … She would have been remiss had she let him go home in that condition.” The suit names the high school district, the Los Altos Police Department, Anderson, Nelson, then-Assistant Principal Kathleen Meagher and Principal Wynn Satterwhite. The Santa Clara County Superior court is located at 191 N. First St., San Jose. Contact Elliott Burr at elliottb@latc.com.
is imperative. … The setback also plays a role in flood control and the protection of water quality.” Heifer’s education center would have comprised several structures built to model thirdworld conditions and hosted overnight stays for groups of young people to study world hunger and poverty.
Los Altos Hills resident Duffy Price, a Los Altos Hills County Fire District commissioner, said the center’s plan for open fire pits would have proved dangerous. “Placing that extraordinary education facility in a community like that is just wrong,” she said. Contact Elliott Burr at elliottb@latc.com.
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February 9, 2011 / Los Altos Town Crier / Page 5