School Group Meets Locally to Explore Ways to Finance $5.7 Million Shortfall

• Foundation Has 60 Days to Raise Money to Prevent Cuts

BY JULIE WALLACH

The Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation, a fundraising organization founded in 1992 to improve academics, arts and athletics districtwide, met in Malibu on Tuesday to discuss “Save Our Schools,” a 60-day fundraising effort that will attempt to restore at least a portion of the $5.7 million the district would have received had Measure A passed.

According to SMMEF, state funding for SMMUSD schools dropped $10 million per year for each of the last three years. Sixty-five teachers and district staff lost their jobs within the last month. District reserves will be exhausted by the end of the 2010-11 academic year.

Linda Gross, who is the SOS’s steering committee chair, explained SMMEF’s three reinstatement priorities, described as “buckets,” for the 2010-11 school year. The top priority, or first bucket, would include funds to restore elementary school class size ratio from 27:1 back to 23:1 for first, second and third grade classes, then kindergarten. The second bucket would enable reducing secondary class size from 35:1 to 33:1 and reinstate secondary school counselors. The third bucket would fund elementary music and library services.

Donations can be earmarked for a particular bucket and could spill over to other priorities. According to the SOS website, “If fundraising within any or all of the three categories does not reach the full amount needed to restore all positions, then partial restorations will be made.”

According to Rebecca Kennerly, SOS steering committee member and Center for Excellent Public Schools chair, this is the first time  an independent organization has permission to raise funds for teacher salaries in the district, with the exception of “monies raised for some targeted programs, mostly arts, which includes some teacher positions.”

The board of education will have the final say on how the funds are allocated and who gets rehired and where. Teachers with the highest seniority will be rehired first. Malibu High PTSA president Wendy Sidley explained that “time is of the essence, as teachers will look elsewhere to secure employment for the coming school year.”

SMMEF asked for a minimum $425 contribution per student that will cover the shortfall for the upcoming academic year only. A total of $1.68 million is required to decrease elementary school class size. Kennerly added, “We don’t have to raise all of that money to make a difference.”

Approximately 80 Malibu parents and PTA members attended the meeting. Malibu parents pointed to the allocation of funds raised and whether that money would be earmarked for Malibu schools and more specifically, Malibu teachers whose positions are now threatened.

Parents raised their concerns about funds benefitting Santa Monica schools rather than Malibu schools, reiterating their concern about donations being used for Malibu students.

Contributions cannot be restricted to use in Malibu, but Sidley responded to this concern with, “We hear a lot about Malibu not getting its fair share of funds but we are; SMMUSD gives Malibu $7 million, which we have to remember helps Malibu students.” Kennerly clarified, “Malibu receives 20 percent of all district funds, as Malibu has 20 percent of students in the district. The district has a $110 general fund, so Malibu receives $23 million from the district.”

Sidley emphasized the need for parents to “view [the funding shortfall] as a community issue that requires collaborative effort in Santa Monica and Malibu,” noting that “the division between the two areas does not serve the community as a whole.” Julie Masterson, Special Education Foundation board member, suggested that Santa Monica and Malibu students “come together for bake sales, car washes, garage sales…people who donate will respond to students from both communities working together.”

Malibu High senior Kaitlyn Connors attended the meeting to emphasize the importance of elementary school music education. Connors said, “You don’t really care as much about knowing quadratic formulae as who your kids are as human beings,” noting that students cultivate a love of music education at an early age, which positively shapes them and helps them to become better people, adding that “by middle school, our passion for learning–even music–isn’t as strong as in elementary school.”

“We have to look at anything we do as success,” Gross stated, mentioning the time constraints given summer vacation and teachers seeking alternative employment for the coming school year.

Meetings will be held in the district office each Monday during the 60-day campaign. Information regarding the budget cuts, fund allocation and fundraising effort can be found at www.smmef.org