Superintendent's Newsletter

Spring is always my favorite time of year at Los Altos School District. As the rain is less frequent, Living Classroom is outside with our students helping them explore their world and hands-on science education. Our spring concerts showcase student musical talent. The Junior Olympics captivates our community and inspires student athletes. It's a busy and exciting time of year that I'm honored to share with our students, teachers and staff.

To share more information about our amazing programs and excellent teachers, Los Altos School District is producing a series of videos to share with the community. Visit our website's new media gallery for the full collection. Please share with your friends and neighbors!

Ask the Superintendent is a newsletter column where students, parents and community members are invited to submit questions to jbaier@lasdschools.org. One anonymous question and my answer is published in each newsletter.

Q: We paid a premium to move to LASD for its excellent schools. Besides paying a bigger property tax bill, we also encountered a donation request from Los Altos Education Foundation. How does LASD’s per student revenue compare to other districts and why is local property tax revenue not enough?

A: The simple answer to this question is that state funding through local property taxes alone simply cannot support the excellent education the Los Altos School District provides for local students and the community has come to expect. In fact, our per student revenue would be significantly lower than neighboring and similar districts if we relied solely on property taxes without the parcel tax and generous donations to LAEF.

Take a look at this video from LAEF, explaining why contributions from our community are essential to protecting our wonderful educational programs and highly qualified teachers. Click here more information on our annual budget.

Want to ensure we protect excellent programs at all of our schools? The Los Altos Educational Foundation is only $49,000 away from its annual fundraising goal.
Please Donate Today!