> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Council to schools: ‘Money does not grow on trees’ - URL: https://www.smdp.com/council-to-schools-money-does-not-grow-on-trees/ - Published: 2003-12-19T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:20:37.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Government & Politics, Santa Monica, #archive-import *City council proposes novel plan to buy or lease school properties* Weary of a developing pattern and anxious to quell a movement among school boosters that would force City Hall to fork over a set percentage of its cash, the City Council voted this week to explore a different approach. Suggested by City Councilmen Herb Katz and Mike Feinstein, the plan would allow City Hall to purchase or rent nearly two dozen district properties. Under the proposed plan, schools would earn millions of dollars while local officials would have an opportunity to build more underground parking, create open space and make other improvements that could benefit greater Santa Monica. It’s a better solution than forcing local government to earmark a portion of its annual revenues for schools, several council members said. Members of the Committee for Excellent Public Schools have discussed putting such a proposal on the November 2004 ballot. Some have suggested increasing taxes on hotel rooms to widen the revenue stream funneled into City Hall, thereby increasing school funding. “There is a threat out there, and I consider it just that, of getting an item on the ballot to force us to give money every year on a long-term basis,” Katz said at the Tuesday meeting. “I think that is totally destructive. I’d like to see it stopped — because it will do nothing but divide this town. Whoever wins will not win.” While buying and leasing school property will likely require voters to approve a higher tax and may be difficult to push forward, Feinstein said it’s a sound approach. 3CA,“I believe that’s the high road, that is the community building road, that’s the righteous thing for everybody,” he said. “Let’s save the bed tax for later. That’s easier. There’s always going to be more things the residents are going to want out of city government.” The discussion came early this year — the budget isn’t adopted until next summer and community priorities aren’t discussed until next month — because council members have grown weary of being asked for extra cash by the district. The City Council gives $3 million each year to the district in exchange for the use of its facilities. For several years, the council also has given millions of dollars more at the last minute, when schools are desperate to find money or face cutting programs. Council members asked City Hall staffers to return with more information about a possible long-term contract, whether property values need to be evaluated and which properties would be of use to the community. Current properties being discussed include the Santa Monica High School football field, where underground parking could be built and thereby negate the need for a massive parking garage approved for behind the courthouse, the Santa Monica College Madison Campus, where underground parking could be built with a park on top and the school district headquarters, which could be moved downtown to expand the adjacent Memorial Park. Another 19 properties also are expected to be looked at under the proposal. The heads of the Committee for Excellent Public Schools could not be reached for comment. Treasurer Graham Pope and steering committee member Laura Rosenthal declined to comment, saying they didn’t feel qualified to discuss the status of the committee’s proposal. But former mayor and committee member Denny Zane said he was encouraged by the council’s direction. He said even if the council’s proposal moves forward, it’s still too soon to say if the group will push its proposal to take a set percentage of City Hall’s money. “Whatever’s happening is in process and when it gets to a conclusion there will be an opportunity for the people assigned to speak, to speak,” Zane added. City Councilwoman Pam O’Connor said it’s important City Hall not be tied to giving huge amounts of money because it, too, is facing a deficit and further uncertainties. Mayor Richard Bloom said schools are important, but so are social service programs for youths and others, as well as environmental programs and senior services. 398,“In many areas the things we do are important to us as a community and we can’t afford to lose our focus,” Bloom said. Six members of the public spoke out on the matter. Some praised the council for its support of schools and others asked it to remember other duties. Lauralee Asch, president of the Coalition of Santa Monica City Employees, a group of non-sworn police department worker unions, urged the council to be cautious of devoting discretionary funds to the school district. “The uncertainty of future city revenue growth makes the decision to guarantee continued funding of the schools at current or greater levels a very big financial risk,” she said. “We take this opportunity to remind you that there is no statutory mandate obligating, you the city, to fund local schools and that, ultimately, California’s failed system for funding public education can only be fixed in Sacramento, not in Santa Monica.” Other city employees agreed. “Local government cannot provide a meaningful long-term solution to a statewide problem and we think that we should all be working together to ensure that Sacramento does the job that we hired them to do,” said Shane Talbot, president of the Police Officers Association, a union for sworn police officers. Talbot added that state officials will quickly rely on cities and counties to continue shouldering the burden. School supporters at the meeting kept their remarks upbeat, praising the council for past work it’s done and asking council members to remember the children. “As a community we need to continue to support the work of our excellent public schools,” said Maria Rodriguez, council president of the district’s Parent Teacher Association. “Our children span great culture and economic divides... but they all have one thing in common. They rely on us to prepare them for the future.” > “Our children span great culture and economic divides... but they all have one thing in common. They rely on us to prepare them for the future.” — — MARIA RODRIGUEZ Council president, Parent Teacher Association Maria Rodriguez *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 19, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121903.pdf?ref=smdp.com)