More funds may not be available for schools
After a massive rally at City Hall for more education funding Tuesday, City Council members said there isn’t much more they can do to help the city’s schools.
Santa Monica is facing a looming $15-million budget deficit that will likely be closed with a series of tax and fee hikes, and across the board cuts in services and programs, city officials announced Tuesday.
The council unanimously voted for city staff to come back with recommendations where cuts can be made, but to spare affordable housing and social services as much as possible.
“To me, there are no sacred areas except for public safety and vital public services,” said Councilman Bob Holbrook. “We exist to make a safe community, and that means public safety and welfare. That’s our core. Everything above that is frosting.”
Activists asked Santa Monica to double the $3 million it currently donates to the public school system to $6 million. Holbrook, who served eight years on the school board, said the city will have a difficult time plugging its deficit, let alone finding more funding for schools.
Educators find themselves in difficult financial times. Dramatic cuts in state funding has led to a $3.5-million shortfall this year and another projected $11-million deficit next year. Among decreasing its spending and cutting programs, the district is asking Santa Monica and Malibu, which gives $227,000 annually, to increase their allocations.
However, council members said the city finds itself in the same economic turmoil.
“It’s obvious they are in a desperate situation,” Holbrook said. “We have to make up $15 million, so if we give them another $3 million it would mean $18 million in cuts. And I don’t know if we have that to cut.”
Superintendent John Deasy said he was happy with the City Council’s response, and he said he understands the city is under intense financial pressures as well.
“They acknowledge clearly the state’s failure to fund the schools, and they indicated they hoped they can do more,” he said. “And we hope that can become a reality, and we trust they can make that a reality.”
Holbrook said he voted for Measure EE, the $300 parcel tax measure that failed at the ballot box in November, and said he plans to send the school district a check for the amount of the parcel tax he would have paid had it passed.
“The school district isn’t asking people who voted for Prop. EE to send in their $300, but I’m going to,” he said. “I voted for it, so I’m going to send $300 to the school district as if it had passed. And I think everyone else should, too.”
Including its annual donation, the city this year is spending $7.5 million on school-linked youth programs and another $7.4 million on non-school related youth programs.
Increasing what the city gives to the school district could diminish many of those other social service programs currently being offered, city officials said.
Councilwoman Pam O’Connor said in California, the state bears the responsibility of funding public education, not cities. She said while Santa Monica can assist its school district, it must focus on providing municipal services.
“Of course we can help with the schools, but we also have to make sure the streets are safe so they can get to school,” she said. “We also have to make sure there is housing for them to live in. And there are parks for them to play in.”
But others argue the city should make its schools more of a priority. They argue City Council members need to rethink how they spend taxpayer dollars.
One elementary student at the rally said instead of buying four new street cleaners for $850,000, the council should use that money for education.
“My mom says kids are more important than trash trucks,” said 11-year-old Miles Leavitt, a fifth-grade student at Roosevelt Elementary School. “Maybe they could use that money for my school.”
Community activist Don Gray said the city should stop spending money on extras like street sweepers, and focus on more core issues, like education.
“I think residents have always supported their schools,” he said. “The problem is the disconnect with the council.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 16, 2003. Read the original PDF.