Los Altos School District trustee Vladimir Ivanovic is walking away from his seat, saying he cannot stand behind the district’s plan to hand its coveted Mountain View “10th site” to Bullis Charter School.
At last Monday's board meeting, Ivanovic announced he will resign effective March 11. He argued the move gives Bullis first crack at brand-new facilities while neighborhood schools sit in line for expensive upgrades. He told colleagues he has been mulling resignation for months and plans to spend his remaining weeks explaining his decision directly to parents.
In an interview with the Mountain View Voice, Ivanovic summed up his exit this way: “I was elected in opposition to BCS, and I’m resigning in opposition to BCS.” He said he is delaying his departure until March so he can make the rounds at PTA meetings across the district and gauge support for his stance. LASD Superintendent Sandra McGonagle told the Voice she is grateful for his many years of dedicated service.
Cost And Priorities Behind The Break
At the heart of Ivanovic’s decision is a fight over money and priorities. He objects to the district’s plan to place Bullis on an 11.7-acre parcel at Mountain View’s San Antonio Shopping Center, arguing that the charter would get a shiny new campus while other schools wait for modernization. The district bought the property in 2019, and its financing strategy, which includes a $350 million bond approved by voters last year, has become a flashpoint over whether bond dollars should go into new construction or long-postponed repairs.
The Palo Alto Daily Post reports the district paid about $155 million for the land, and the Midpeninsula Post detailed Ivanovic’s argument that the district’s Facilities Master Plan would channel large sums into building a new campus at the expense of upgrading existing ones.
The Board’s October Vote
The split on the board burst into public view in October, when trustees voted 4-1 to direct staff to move forward with allocating the 10th site to Bullis. Ivanovic was the lone “no” vote, according to the Mountain View Voice.
District plans call for a roughly 607-student campus on the Mountain View property, while Bullis currently enrolls close to 1,000 students across two junior-high sites. That mismatch in capacity has fueled much of the controversy around the move.
What Comes Next
Under the California Education Code, the board must either appoint a replacement within 60 days or call an election. If the board makes a provisional appointment, residents can force a special election by submitting a petition signed by at least 1.5% of registered voters.
The board is expected to decide whether to appoint someone or order an election at its Jan. 26 meeting, the Palo Alto Daily Post reports. If trustees choose an appointment, opponents would then have 30 days to gather the required signatures to trigger a special election.
Ivanovic said he may push for an election and would consider running again if he finds parents backing his position. That would turn his vacant seat into a de facto referendum on the district’s facilities strategy.
