The San Francisco Peninsula Real Estate Blog

There’s absolutely no doubt that the quality of the public school district is one of the top decision criteria for home buyers as they decide where they will ultimately live.  Parents want the best schools for their kids, and home-buyers want their investment to retain value.  Homes in the more desirable school districts fetch higher prices, almost as if they’re tracking the API scores of their respective schools — the higher the API scores, the higher the home prices.   The converse is true as well.

But should you buy a home solely on which school district it resides in?    As some Burlingame families found out this week, the answer is a resounding NO.   Just because you fall within the stated boundaries of a particular school, it does not mean you are guaranteed to get into that school.    Residents in certain San Carlos school boundaries found this out last year.   Clearly, in the case of Lincoln Elementary School, there were examples of inexplicable miscommunication on behalf the School District.  But at the end of the day, this is of no consolation to those parents who will have to enroll their children in other schools.

What can you do?

If you’re searching for a home, and the school district is of paramount concern to you, the best thing you can do is arm yourself with as much information as possible.   Here are three key things you can do to ensure you’re making the right decision:

1. Interview the School Principal.  Find out what the current enrollment is, and what the trends are (increasing or decreasing?)   What percentage of capacity is the school currently at?   When are they projected to be full?   What plans are there to increase capacity?   Meet with the Principal in person, if possible.
2. Understand the District’s policy on Impaction.   What happens when a school is impacted?   How does the District handle decisions on inter-district transfers?  Does having a sibling in the school give higher priority.   These decisions are almost always made at the District level, so get in touch with the respective district and understand their policy.   Call the superintendent if you need to.
3. How are the adjacent schools? It’s not uncommon on the  Peninsula to have a high-scoring school adjacent to under-achieving ones.   Check out the schools adjacent to the area you are searching in.   If you wouldn’t send your kids to any of those, then you’re taking a much bigger risk by buying into a single district.

The bottom line?  Do your homework.  Every school on the Peninsula has its own website, and every School District has one as well.   The contact information for the Superintendent, Principal, and School Board Members is readily accessible.     Be the one to initiate the contact, ask questions, and make yourself a pain-in-the-rear if need be.    Don’t put yourself in a situation where you will suddenly resent the biggest purchase that you’ll likely ever make.

There’s simply too much at stake….