Schools Superintendent Brings Budget Woes to Malibu to Build Support for Another Parcel Tax

• Phone Polls Show ‘Lukewarm’ Support of Spring Tax Vote

BY SUZANNE GULDIMANN

As state budget resources continue to shrink, the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District, which is facing a $12 million deficit this year, is reaching out to the community for support with a series of budget presentations. The Malibu session will take place on Thursday, Jan. 21, from 7-9 p.m., at the Malibu High School auditorium.
In an open letter to the Malibu community dated Jan. 8, district superintendent Tim Cuneo wrote: “We can all take pride in the accomplishments of our district and its students. During the State of Our Schools presentations this fall, I reported that our district’s students continue to grow and outperform other districts on the state and national performance levels. This could not have been accomplished without the dedication and commitment of all district employees to the success of our students. Their efforts have made a difference in the lives and futures of the students that we serve.
“I also reported that the district has had to deal with a major state budget shortfall to education over the last two years, resulting in the district making $4.5 million in cuts last year. As a result, the district must continue to prepare to make significant budget reductions to maintain a balanced budget, as required by law. These reductions, based on current information, could be as much as $8 million for the 2010-11 school year. Indications are coming from Sacramento that when the Governor proposes the 2010-11 state budget this month, there will still be multi-billion dollar deficits and most likely continued under funding of public schools. The budget picture could worsen.”
The letter outlines a number of possible cost-saving measures, including reducing the school year by five days; scaling back summer school programs; conserving energy and utilities; additional increases in class size at all grade levels; and reductions in staff at both the district and school level that could include librarians, nurses, councilors and classroom aids.
A new parcel tax that could potentially generate around $6 million annually for five years is also part of the district’s budget plan. On Jan. 6, the committee established to study the feasibility of a new tax recommended that that board of education pursue placing the property tax on the ballot in the spring, despite what one committee member described as a “lukewarm” response to phone polls of district residents.
The committee, which is expected to present its findings to the board of education on Jan. 14, will reportedly recommended that the district pursue a special election, rather than attempt to place the item on the general election ballot.
A special election would potentially cost the district substantially more than placing the item on the June general election ballot—but would theoretically improve the district’s chances of passing the measure, which will require a two-thirds majority. A senior citizen exemption is anticipated to be included in the tax proposal.
District residents voted in 2008 to remove a sundown clause on the existing $346 parcel tax, enabling the district to collect the tax in perpetuity. The new tax could add an additional $225 to the existing tax, although official numbers have not yet been released.
The parcel tax committee examined the potential for a $425 parcel tax, which would have eliminated the current budget deficit, but reportedly found little support for the higher tax.
Rebecca Kennerly, former district PTA president who currently chairs the education advocacy group Community for Excellent Public Schools, has gone on record saying that the California’s current economic crisis has eroded some support for additional local contributions to the district.
Observers are already predicting that the measure will be a tough sell. Although district voters have been highly supportive of school bonds in the past, soaring 2009 foreclosure rates and job losses in Santa Monica, which has the majority of the voters in the bifurcated two-city district, may make even a temporary emergency tax unpalatable to already beleaguered residents.
Additional information on the budget is available online at www.smmusd.org