FROM CUTS PAGE 1 District could lose 25 teachers
Area public schools could be without 25 teachers next year as the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District battles a challenging combination of declining enrollment and a gaping hole in its budget.
The potential budget cuts were outlined during a Board of Education meeting on Thursday when Assistant Superintendent Mike Matthews informed the board that staffing cuts will be necessary in order to combat budgetary issues presented by the loss of revenue from declining student enrollment as well as cuts from the state.
“It’s that classic perfect storm of problems we have coming along,” Matthews said.
Enrollment has steadily declined in the district since the school board imposed a moratorium on non-district resident students a few years ago. While the board did on Thursday lift the moratorium for kindergarten through eighth grade in the Santa Monica schools and all schools in Malibu, those changes will not be reflected immediately in the 2008-09 fiscal year, Matthews said.
The district is currently facing an estimated $5 million operating deficit for the next fiscal year, about half of which can be closed by staffing cuts. Approximately 92 percent of every dollar spent by the district goes toward personnel-related expenses, Matthews said.
“We have to cut people,” Matthews said. “That’s not a pleasant topic, but it’s a budget reality and that’s where these things have to go.”
Matthews also mentioned that the deficit could be worse if Measure R didn’t pass earlier this month, preserving small class sizes and maintaining the elementary school music program, he said.
District staff is proposing to dip into the reserves to help close the operating deficit. The reserve level for the 2008-09 school year is predicted to be $9.3 million above the 3 percent minimum, while in 2009-10, it will dip to $4.9 million above the minimum.
By the 2010-11 school year, the reserve should be at the 3 percent threshold.
Elementary schools stand to lose about seven Full Time Equivalent (FTE) positions and the secondary schools could lose about 17. One FTE in the elementary music program was granted by the board last year for one year only and that position will not be renewed.
Santa Monica High School might lose one of its six houses as a result of the cuts. The house system is a way of creating a family environment on a large campus. Students are assigned to one of six houses, which includes a principle, two counselors and support staff.
Enrollment at Samohi is expected to drop from 3,300 to 2,800 students next year, Matthews said. Cutting one house would result in the reduction of two advisers, a house principal, an administrative assistant and community outreach specialist, amounting to $400,000 in savings.
The house system, which has been celebrated over the years after experiencing resistance in its infancy five years ago, is expected to be one of the more contentious of the proposed cuts.
528,“There’s a lot of discomfort in losing a house,” Matthews said.
Harry Keiley, the president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, said the board should discuss what would be a healthy reserve level for the district, adding that it would be a mistake to make staffing reductions now if reserves are projected to be higher.
“I would be a mistake to make too many reductions too quickly,” Keiley said.
School Board member Jose Escarce spoke in favor of considering a reduction to five houses, though recognizing that it would clearly be a disruption to teachers and students. The recommendation was also supported by the other board members.
“It’s untenable in our state to keep six houses, it’s too expensive,” Escarce said. “It would be wonderful to be able to (keep the houses), but we just simply can’t afford that.”
School Board member Kelly Pye said she has some concerns about the staff cuts at John Adams Middle School, fearing that it might disrupt the disciplinary improvements in recent years.
“(Principal) Martha (Shaw) really created a more academic culture at this school,” Pye said. “But it’ still very much in a tenuous spot.”
Jump hedline: District could lose 25 teachers
Suggested pullquote: “We have to cut people.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 25, 2008. Read the original PDF.