Jennifer,

Thank you for taking the time to write about focusing the reduction of school overcrowding on development of the North 40.  I am attaching a recent response to Jackie Ellsworth who had nearly the same concern.

 I do want to add that completely building up North Los Gatos as I envision it will add less than 1.5% more K-8 children to our schools.  And this will occurr years yet in the future when the demographics may not be as heavilly weighed on our current child boom. 

 According to the recent OP ED from the superintendent of schools, there is a study about to be released which will show ways to meet overcrowding with existing facilities.  As I mention below, if existing infrastructure is inadequate, than North Los Gatos can pick up some slack with some magnet schools.

 However, there is so much more to be gained from pedestrian arcade, underground parking, eldercare, regional theater, affordable housing,  and the all important transit center that more schools must not be the central theme of the north 40.

Mark


Date: Thu, 30 Sep 1999 21:53:46 -0700
>To: Jackie Ellsworth <Marykay.Ellsworth@worldnet.att.net>,
>From: Mark Brodsky <Mark@MrLaser.com>
>Subject: Schools, Housing, Transportation, Quality
>Cc: losgatos@listbot.com, mark@northlosgatos.com
>
>Jackie,
>Thanks for writing.  You would be supprised how few people take the time to think about things and fewer still put their ideas to paper.
>
>The simple answer to your suggestion that we build schools on the North 40 instead of housing is to respond, "So where are the teachers going to live"?
>
>To be more specific, every town in California is required by the state to provide a plan for increasing the number of housing units in the next decades.  In fact, without such a plan, the state can and has pulled towns abilities to issue any form of permits.
>
>Los Gatos has such a plan.  It would probably be a good idea for me to put a link on www.northlosgatos.  The housing mix chosen by the town's consultant thankfully stressed what is called "affordable housing" which in Los Gatos terms means affordable to a family earning around $45K ,  ie teachers, firefighters, police, city workers etc.
>
>
>The designs depicted at www.northlosgatos.com provide a wide mix of housing types.  In the North40 side there would be studio, one and two bedrooms built over the shop fronts for singles and young marrieds(just like on Main Street). And across the road there are 20 more acres for large victorians parcled up to even include 3 and 4 bedroom apartments and condos.  At most we would be looking at less than 50 more children while meeting our affordable housing targets and getting so much more.
>
>
>Having put 4 kids through the Los Gatos School system, I personally would rather see my education dollars go to the improvement of the existing facilities, not the building of more. ( There are big plans underway for the high school, and having just come from my last ever "back to school night", I can assure you it certainly needs it.) 
>
>The basis for all our actions must be that no matter what we agree or disagree on, more people are coming.  From my many travels on the pacific rim it is obvious that Silicon Valley specifically, and Los Gatos in practice,  is a destination to a new generation of childern of the new monied professional class.  As empty nesters move out, new families will move in along with more kids but also with more cars and congestion. 
>
> Added to that congestion will be hundreds of Highway 17 park and ride commuters going down Lark to the Vasonna Light Rail Station, plus the hundreds more near by residents planned to surround that station in those horrid "rabbit warren" housing units Campbell likes to build.  Without the transit mitigation from something like www.northlosgatos.com, there is no other way for them to get on Highway 17 or Highway 85 south except by coming through Los Gatos.
>
>School congestion restrictions will also be met, I believe, by the growing use of satelite or magnet schools. (Luckily these new comers will also bring the funds to insure their children get the best American education so improvements will continue.)  And www.northlosgatos does provide an excellent place for them at the below grade arcade.  This is because the North 40 can be the one accessible transportation hub for this corner of the valley. 
>
>That said, I would like to include your letter on WWW.northlosgatos.com/letters.html (This weekend when I get around to making that page).
>
>Perhaps you can also provide a link to the school population projections for the site as well.
>
>I hope we can find some common ground, after traveling over a large part of this world there is no place as nice as my home here.  We just need to build more Los Gatos.
>
>Regards,
>
>Mark
>
>
>At 12:52 PM 9/27/99 -0700, Jackie Ellsworth wrote:
>>Schools are already over crowded with MANY more students to come without
>>additional houses being added.  The district desperately needs a new
>>school.  Seems to me,  a good use for 60 acres would be a school.  NOT
>>more businesses that bring more people in to Los Gatos.  I don't care
>>how much traffic management you talk about.  It still means MORE people
>>visiting and if housing is added, then the schools will be even more
>>over-crowded. Have you checked the growth in the local schools in the
>>last 8 years?  Doubled!
>>Regards,
>>Jackie Ellsworth
>>
>>Attachment Converted: "c:\eudora\attach\vcard.vcf"
>>