In 1999, James Lick was declared "an underperforming school." Many families, concerned over academic quality and issues of school safety, removed their students by way of the "No Child Left Behind" legislation. The surrounding area, during the economic decline of recent years, became a haven for families seeking affordable places to live. Concurrently, many first-time homeowners found themselves in the county's epicenter of foreclosure. Even after some easing of that housing crisis, the neighborhood of James Lick High School still held Santa Clara County's top foreclosure rate – #1 out of 226 neighborhoods in 2012. The region surrounding James Lick offers few buffers from the booms and busts of Silicon Valley.