Bullis Name Used by Various Schools

A recent newspaper article triggered questions regarding the Bullis name used by various schools.  The 4-9-22 article in the Washington Post Newspaper mentioned a recently deceased, professional football quarterback, who had attended Bullis School.

 “Dwayne Haskins, former Washington quarterback, dies at 24.  Haskins was a record-setting quarterback at the Bullis School in Potomac, Md., and at Ohio State University before moving to the NFL.” - https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2022/04/09/dwayne-haskins-dead/

 The article refers to Bullis School (a private school) in Potomac, Maryland.  Bullis (https://www.bullis.org/about) is an independent, co-ed private school for kindergarten through grade 12. The website indicates: “We are situated on a stunning 102-acre campus in Potomac, Maryland just outside Washington, D.C.  Bullis School was founded in 1930, Captain (NG) William F. Bullis, a 1924 graduate of the Naval Academy and a preparatory school teacher, and his bride Lois Hoover Bullis, a school teacher, founded a new school in Washington, D.C., to prepare young men for service academy entrance exams.”  Annual tuition and expenses vary from $40,000 to $52,000.  Tax ID 52-0635080

 The Bullis name has also been used by various schools in Los Altos Hills and Los Altos, California.  In the early 1960s, during a period of increasing student enrollment in the Los Altos School District (LASD), a new elementary school was built on Fremont Road in Los Altos Hills (LAH).  https://www.lasdschools.org/District/1167-History.html  The school was named Gardner Bullis School in honor of Mr. Gardner Bullis. 

Born in 1887, Gardner Bullis moved to LAH in 1947 with his wife.  He was a delightful and charming lawyer, who did many good things, for free, for the community and was often the focal point of a party because he would entertain guests with stories.  Intense land development triggered Los Altos residents (then part of Mountain View) to move toward incorporation. Gardner Bullis worked, without reimbursement, as the city attorney. When the city of Los Altos was able to pay for his services, he refused.  A few years later, he offered his time to LAH when its residents voted to incorporate the town in 1956. 

In 1976, due to declining district-wide student enrollment, the Purissima School site, located two miles from the Gardner Bullis School, was closed and the consolidating Gardner Bullis School was renamed Bullis-Purissima School.
https://www.cde.ca.gov/schooldirectory/details?cdscode=43695186047484
https://www.publicschoolreview.com/bullis-purissima-elementary-school-profile

At the beginning of the 2003-04 school year, a perfect storm of events occurred (bursting of the dot.com bubble resulting large California State budget deficits, lower LASD enrollment, LASD became a Basic Aid District limiting LASD funding for student transfers from other districts, higher LASD operating costs after the over-budget and behind-schedule renovation of other schools), which led to the temporary closing (2004-2008) of Bullis-Purissima School site, the smallest LASD school.

In 2003, some residents served by the Bullis-Purissima School formed a foundation, Bullis Purissima Elementary School Foundation, and then formed a charter school, The Bullis-Purissima Elementary School, .  The stated goal in the charter petition was “to create a charter school and operate the school on the campus of the former traditional school.”  Although the Purissima Elementary School Foundation, which raised over $5 million, made offers to buy the temporarily closed Bullis-Purissima school site, LASD declined to sell the Bullis-Purissima school site.  

From 2004 to 2008, LASD used the Bullis-Purissima School site for a number of purposes (districtwide preschool autistic program, an interim town hall while the LAH permanent facility was renovated, extended-day kindergarten, etc.) until budget pressures eased and the LASD Board was able to commit the $11 million investment to renovate the campus. 

In 2008 the renovated Bullis-Purissima School campus was reopened with the name, Gardner Bullis (previously used for the site from 1960-1976), to continue to preserve the memory of one of the founding fathers of Los Altos and Los Altos Hills https://www.cde.ca.gov/sdprofile/details.aspx?cds=43695186047427.

 Timeline

  • 1930 to Today –   Bullis School – 92 years – Private school in Potomac, MD                                                             

  • 1960 to 1976 – Gardner Bullis School – 16 Years - LASD school in LAH

  • 1977 to 2007 – Bullis-Purissima School – 30 years - LASD school in LAH

  • 2004 to Today – Bullis-Purissima Elementary Foundation (EIN 481298689) & Bullis-Purissima Elementary School (EIN 481298690) (aka Bullis Charter School or BCS) – 18 years – Santa Clara County charter School in LA

  • 2008 to Today – Gardner Bullis School – 15 years - LASD school in LAH

References

Steve Brown