T he dust has finally settled around the aborted Community for Excellent Public Schools funding ballot initiative. It would have created a city charter amendment requiring Santa Monica to allocate 4 percent of designated general fund revenues or $6 million — whichever was greater — plus up to 8 percent of additional monies as city revenues increased. If CEPS had qualified for the fall ballot and received voter approval, it would have required permanent funding of schools by City Hall.
However, a compromise has rendered the proposed CEPS initiative moot. Meetings between school supporters, Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy and City Manager Susan McCarthy resulted in an agreement that calls for the city to give $6 million annually to the school district for five years. A “less expensive” cost of living increase will add to the dollar figure in years ahead.
There are questions about the compromise. Some say that despite a contract, in years to come the City Council could change its mind and alter the agreement. And, then there’s the issue of whether this City Council can order a long-term spending commitment that future City Councils would have to uphold. Municipal ordinance 2.69.010 (f), known as the 1994 Public Safety Act, for example, placed a cap on city funds that could be allocated for homeless services, but the city attorney since ruled the ordinance was unenforceable because it placed unreasonable limitations on future City Councils’ ability to govern and control budgets.
It seems that everyone wanted an alternative to CEPS. As the initiative came closer to qualifying for the ballot, its own supporters were getting cold feet. There were complaints about Malibu and the non-resident “permit” holders (who make up 40 percent of the district’s students) ducking a financial stake. Voters carping about two recent, school-related tax increases and a lack of financial oversight increased fears that CEPS might not win voter approval after all.
City Hall fretted about a sizable and growing, permanent fiscal obligation that could take away from other city operations such as public safety.
Santa Monicans For Renters Rights leaders feared a serious party split if the CEPS initiative made the ballot. There’s no way this was going to happen in an organization whose strength is its consistent agreement on agenda and policy.
Both the SMRR-controlled school board and City Council approved the compromise in the past week. So, who are the winners and losers?
SMRR co-chair Denny Zane, a CEPS founder and Ralph Mechur, a SMRR steering committee member, as well as a CEPS leader, were both solidly behind the initiative. City Council SMRRs such as Mayor Richard Bloom and Councilmen Michael Feinstein and Ken Genser were firmly against it. Bloom, Feinstein and Genser, up for reelection this November, had won SMRR endorsements in previous campaigns.
CEPS supporters vowed to label any person opposing their measure as being “anti-education, anti-children and antischools.” A SMRR endorsed, anti-measure slate could suffer the anti-school stigma. But the thought of SMRR not supporting its three incumbents and acknowledged front runners was unthinkable.
On the other hand, there also were concerns that the powerful police, fire and municipal employees unions vociferously against the measure might not endorse SMRR’s pro-CEPS candidates. Other long-standing alliances could’ve also unraveled. There was no choice but to strike a deal, and SMRR leaders worked feverishly to make that happen.
With the matter resolved, a rancorous squabble over school funding is no longer a concern. For the most part, they’re one, big, happy family for now. So, SMRR emerges a big winner.
Non-SMRR candidates for office are big losers. They’ve lost a key issue to use against long-entrenched SMRR office holders. A hair-pulling, eye-scratching SMRR rift would have given opposition candidates their best chance in years to win City Council and school board seats. And, of course, those who worked so hard on the CEPS initiative also lost out.
But the biggest losers are our schools. The compromise falls way short of what the schools would have received if the CEPS proposal were approved by voters. Even Deasy said, “CEPS would at least double this.”
So once again, they’ve shortchanged our kids. Because of political game playing, education has once again fallen victim to political expediency SMRR style. (Bill Bauer is a longtime Santa Monica resident and a freelance writer).
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 14, 2004. Read the original PDF.