MENLO PARK, Calif. – Residents of Portola Valley’s Ladera neighborhood, in an uproar over restrictions limiting access to Woodland School’s playing field, are pressing school district leaders to extend access to the community’s only green space for more hours per day.
Woodland, a private school in the Ladera neighborhood that leases a former public school from the district, only allows residents to use the field and blacktop after 5:30 p.m. and is considering pushing the time to 6 p.m., when afterschool programs finish.
Laderans say the school field is the only accessible play area for nearby residents. They want to see Woodland align their access policies with other public schools in the Las Lomitas Elementary School district that allow people to play on school property at 3 p.m.
The fight entered a new phase at a packed Oct. 4 Las Lomitas Elementary School District Board Meeting when dozens of people from each camp debated when the public should be able to access the black top and field on campus.
Woodland School representatives demanded the entire campus be closed to the public to ensure student safety during afterschool programs, while Ladera parents pushed for more time to play with their children on the field.
“This is a place where people gather. It’s a place where people play. People need to feel a sense of belonging. This is hurtful for the community. It’s hurtful for our kids because I think it feels like the school is saying you don’t belong here,” said Tracy Kraft, a Ladera parent.
Las Lomitas Elementary School District owns the property at 360 La Cuesta Dr. and has leased the site to Woodland School since 1981. This year, the district expects to receive $958,803 for the Woodland lease.
In 2017, Woodland gained exclusive access to use play areas during the hours of 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, excepting school public holidays. (The lease agreement says 5 p.m. in some areas and 6 p.m. in one instance, a confusion that everyone is acknowledging needs to be remedied.) But for roughly five years, the school did not restrict access to the grounds.
Then late last year, the school posted signs saying the field was off limits to the public on weekdays from 7:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Laderans said they were blindsided by these revised conditions.
“As a community we were left out of this decision that effectively stole our play space,” Peter Caryotakis, a longtime Ladera resident, said in an email.
At the Oct. 4 meeting, Laderans of all ages – including elementary school-aged children — stepped up to the podium to share memories set at the Woodland field. Neighbors described octogenarians lined up in lawn chairs during the pandemic. Kids talked about friendships formed over afternoon soccer games.
Parents pleaded for more hours to play with their children in the community’s only green space.
“This is really the one place for kids, dogs, families, seniors to walk to in Ladera. Closing it off to Ladera kids and families has a significant negative impact on physical, mental and emotional health,” said Ladera parent Colin Cahill.
But Woodland parents and administrators — dressed in Woodland Wildcat gear and sporting tote bags and shirts embroidered with Ws — demanded student safety be put first and that hours remain restricted.
“Places that we perceive as safe are safe until the moment they are not. School violence and individuals with poor intentions towards our children can happen anywhere,” said Neha Joshi, a Woodland parent.
Currently, 305 students attend preschool through eighth grade at Woodland. School programming runs from 7:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with tuition ranging from $31,305 to $41,925 depending on the grade level.
Woodland attendees brought up past security issues, including a loiterer found enticing children on campus, a group of teenagers who vandalized school property and dogs off leash.
“The school site has no fence, it has no gates to lock,” said Anne Hoecker, a Woodland Board of Trustees member.
Seeking Support
Ahead of the meeting, community members sent advocacy letters to the district board saying past members had promised the play areas would be available for public use after regular school hours.
At the four-and-a-half-hour board meeting, Laderans and Woodland School parents alike called on the board to make sense of the inconsistencies in the lease regarding what time Woodland can have exclusive access to the field during the school year and summer break.
“Our desire is for a clear understanding of exclusive use under the lease. It’s about keeping our school community safe,” said Andrew Moore, a Ladera resident and Woodland School parent.
No current LLESD board members were seated six years ago when the 2017 lease amendment was agreed upon. The board asked the district’s legal counsel, Gina Beltramo, for help understanding the dispute.
Beltramo said she found no legal argument that would make the lease invalid, but said another amendment may be necessary to clarify whether school hours end at 5 p.m. or 6 p.m.
Board members stressed they would have more conversations about Woodland’s lease and pledged to make the process as visible as possible for the public.
“Transparency will be as honest and raw as it was tonight after we get our feet under us,” said board member Paige Winikoff.
LLESD may discuss the lease during a closed session with their legal counsel at the next scheduled board meeting on Nov. 8, according to district spokesperson Kelli Twomey.
While conversations continue, Board President Jason Morimoto said he is focused on finding “a balance of children’s safety but also children’s ability to play.”
