Wednesday hearing on Mandarin immersion charter school

Scroll down the page to the form you can fill in to send a message to the San Mateo County Board of Education: Web Link

I have just sent them a message pointing out there is no need for a Mandarin Immersion Charter School in the Menlo Park City School District.

Isn't there a new MI program opening in Redwood City? And aren't Redwood City and Menlo Park part of the same high school district? Seems logical to me that if parents want their kids in an MI program, they should just enroll them in the one in Redwood City. Still free, still public.

@palo alto resident: This is an elementary district, not a high school district, so the districts in Redwood City and Menlo Park are different -but the point is valid, as the Redwood City program will accept out-of-district students. Redwood City may receive state funds for students from outside their boundaries attending their schools, but Menlo Park would not, as it is a "basic aid" district. There are also private Mandarin elementary schools nearby.

@john I reallize that Redwood City and Menlo Park are different elementary districts, but I was trying to think logically from the position of the San Mateo county position. Two adjacent Districts that both feed into the same high school District, one has a new MI program, can receive funding from other districts for accepting students. The other district wants an MI program, but does not appear to have enough in-district students, and would have to pay for any out of District students that it educates. As a County, allowing interested Menlo park students to attend the redwood city school makes a lot more sense.