Petition to Keep Los Alamitos Elementary Sustainable & Safe
On March 26, the SJUSD Board will vote on "Option 8"—a rushed boundary change that will force 100-150 new students into the Los Alamitos neighborhood, violates walkability policies, and exacerbates a daily traffic crisis.
Trending toward "Mega-School." an additional 100-150 students would require 4-6 new classes, blowing past the District's own "ideal" size limits, overwhelming our unexpanded 1974 cafeteria, library, restrooms and other aging infrastructure.
Where are transfer students and new planned large-scale multi-family developments zoned for Los Alamitos accounted for in enrollment projections?
A Dangerous Traffic Crisis. Adding additional daily commuting vehicles or additional large buses to our quiet residential streets would be a severe hazard. We’ve already had a student pedestrian struck by a vehicle this school year.
Fiscal Irresponsibility & Hidden Costs. The proposal forces students to commute approximately 2 miles, bypassing a much lower attended school, Almaden Elementary, with only 315 students, 0.8 miles away. This negatively impacts all students involved and the Board is violating BP 3100 and AR 3541 policies if a proper Cost-Benefit Analysis is not performed of any subsidized busing.
Preserve Existing Boundaries. This petition is to preserve existing, sustainable Los Alamitos boundaries. Keeping them as-is to allow the school to maintain its current STAC "ideal" size and thrive. Even within current boundaries substantial planned housing developments will continue to increase enrollment (e.g. Project No. H23-019).
Additional questions? Check the Frequenty Asked Questions page.
Step 1: Sign the Petition. Add your name to demand the Board route these students to the closer, safer, and under-enrolled Almaden Elementary campus.
Step 2: Email the Board of Education. It takes 30 seconds to make your voice heard. Send an email demanding fiscal responsibility and due diligence.
Step 3: Show Up. Physical presence matters. Join us at the District Office (855 Lenzen Avenue).
March 21, 2026: Board Special Session at 9 am - Add to Google Calendar | Add to Apple/Outlook Calendar
March 26, 2026: Final Board Vote (time TBD)
Petition to the San José Unified School District Board of Education: Maintain Sustainable Boundaries for Los Alamitos Elementary School
To: The San José Unified School District (SJUSD) Board of Education
Regarding: STIC Elementary School Boundary Realignments Recommendation (Option 8)
We, the undersigned parents, residents, and community members of the Los Alamitos Elementary School neighborhood, formally request that the Board of Education amend the proposed boundary changes in the STIC Final Recommendation.
While we understand the complex challenges of declining enrollment district-wide, the proposed addition of a highly dense geographic pocket to the Los Alamitos boundary fundamentally contradicts the District’s stated goals. It breaks a school that currently fits the "ideal" size, violates the District's transportation and walkability metrics, poses severe safety risks to students, and was rushed through a flawed, 11th-hour process.
We urge the Board to amend the final boundary map based on the STIC's own evaluation criteria and basic standards of community engagement:
1. Violation of Criteria 1 & 10: Breaking an "Ideal" School with a "Band-Aid" Solution The Schools of Tomorrow Advisory Committee (STAC) defined an "ideal" elementary school as having 3 classes per grade level (roughly 500–680 students). Los Alamitos is currently thriving at exactly this size, operating 25 classrooms across TK–5 (averaging 3 to 4 classes per grade level) with 615 enrolled students.
The "Overcrowding" Math & Deflated Projections: Based on 2020 Census data, the proposed boundary addition contains approximately 100 to 150 elementary-aged children. The District’s 7-year projection of just 608 students at Los Alamitos appears deflated, with answers needed to critical questions:
Where are the Transfer Students? The 7-year model excludes transfer students, a demographic that currently makes up 100 of our 614 students. Unless the District intends to prohibit new transfers to Los Alamitos—a policy change not discussed—this omission causes a significant gap in student projections.
Where is the new housing growth? Do projections account for "by right" SB 4 housing developments already in the pipeline? Specifically, the 5655 Gallup development (Project No. H23-019 at the Southridge Church site) is zoned for Los Alamitos. Based on 2020 Census data of nearby housing, this complex of 244 units alone projects an additional ~75 TK-5 children.
Creating a Mega-School: An unaccounted for influx of 150+ pushes Los Alamitos to 4 to 5 classes per grade level, which completely blows past the STAC's defined ideal for a standard school. Option 8 is a short-sighted "band-aid" solution. Instead of making the hard decisions to solve the district's systemic enrollment issues, this proposal destabilizes a thriving school today, guaranteeing the Board will have to revisit this exact same overcrowding crisis in just a few years.
2. Violation of Criteria 3 & 8: Fiscal Irresponsibility & The Transportation Paradox SJUSD Administrative Regulation 3541 mandates "maximum efficiency in the use of buses and decreased traffic." The proposed boundary addition blatantly violates this regulation, creating an illogical, unsafe, and highly expensive transportation burden:
A Manufactured Financial Subsidy & BP 3100 Violation: The new area is 2 miles away from Los Alamitos. Under AR 3541, any elementary student living over 1.5 miles from their school is eligible for district-provided transportation. By creating a new 2-mile commute, the District is legally obligating itself to an avoidable, long-term financial subsidy. Furthermore, the STIC and Board have failed to provide a Transportation Cost-Benefit Analysis comparing the 2-mile Los Alamitos route against the 0.8-mile Almaden Elementary route. This omission fails the transparency and fiscal accountability requirements of Board Policy (BP) 3100. We demand that these permanent encumbered costs be publicly disclosed before the March 26 vote. Every dollar spent busing these students 2 miles without a fiscal analysis is a dollar diverted away from classroom instruction.
The Logical Alternative: This same neighborhood is only 0.8 miles from Almaden Elementary, offering a highly walkable route that crosses only one major intersection. Bypassing Almaden Elementary to bus students 2 miles to an overcrowded Los Alamitos directly contradicts the District's own fiscal sustainability goals. We demand the Board adhere to the proximity and efficiency standards outlined in AR 3541 and assign this neighborhood to its closest facility.
3. Violation of Criteria 2, 4, & 6: Core Infrastructure & Neighborhood Safety Constraints Los Alamitos was built in 1974 for a fraction of its current student body. While the District’s "capacity" metrics may count the roughly 18 temporary portable classrooms currently on our campus as available space, our core infrastructure is at a breaking point.
Shared Resources: The "core" facilities at Los Alamitos—the MPR, library, and restrooms—have not been expanded since 1974 and are functionally over capacity. While portable classrooms add desk space, they do not scale the infrastructure required by CDE Title 5 and the California Plumbing Code (CPC). The MPR is capped at about 360 occupants, already forcing five lunch rotations and split assemblies. Adding additional students would severely impact safety. Furthermore, adding students without ensuring compliance of CDE Title 5 and CPE Chapter 4 is a direct violation of health and accessibility standards.. We demand a formal Facility Capacity Audit of Los Alamitos before any boundary expansions are approved.
Traffic & Safety: The school sits in a quiet residential neighborhood with minimal infrastructure to support high-volume commuter traffic. Introducing additional daily commuting vehicles would create a serious safety crisis. During this school year alone, a student walking to school was struck by a vehicle and required medical treatment (SJPD 25-258-0219). The physical footprint of this neighborhood was not designed to accommodate this traffic volume, and increasing it places pedestrians at even greater risk.
4. A Flawed, Rushed Process (Lack of Community Engagement) The Schools of Tomorrow process has been ongoing for months, yet Option 8 was added by STIC early March 2026, and finalized just days later on March 12th. The Los Alamitos community was completely blindsided by this 11th-hour boundary change proposal. We were denied the months of transparent public engagement, data review, and feedback opportunities afforded to other communities. The Board should not approve a massive rezoning that completely bypassed adequate public scrutiny.
Our Request to the Board: We respectfully urge the Board of Education to utilize its authority during the March 21 Special Session and March 26 final vote to amend the STIC proposed boundary map. We ask that you route this specific neighborhood to a closer, under-enrolled facility (such as Almaden Elementary). Doing so prevents the District from committing to fiscally irresponsible, long-term transportation subsidies under AR 3541, ensures compliance with the fiscal transparency requirements of BP 3100, avoids wasteful spending/updating aging/inadequate facilities, and corrects a flawed public process. We demand the encumbered transportation costs of Option 8 be disclosed and a Facility Capacity Audit completed before voting to expand the Los Alamitos Elementary boundaries. We ask the Board to allow Los Alamitos to remain at the STAC-defined ideal capacity, ensuring the safety and educational quality of all SJUSD students.