By Daily Press staff
Education will be a key election issue this year in Santa Monica, which is why local school supporters will drill candidates on their positions this Monday.
Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) will host a candidate forum at 7 p.m. It is viewed as an opportunity for the public to evaluate both school board and City Council candidates on the issue of education. Earlier this year, CEPS, the broad-based, grassroots group of education activists spearheaded the “Excellent Public Schools Charter Amendment” and its signature-gathering drive. Shortly before the deadline for submitting signatures that would have qualified the measure for this November’s election, the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District Board of Education and the Santa Monica City Council negotiated a voluntary agreement that will give the district $6 million annually for five years.
The compromise agreement mirrored the CEPS measure in many ways, providing predictable, long-term funding to public education from City Hall with increases tied to city revenue growth.
Co-chairs, Shari Davis and Louise Jaffe are focusing CEPS resources on the political process and raising the public’s awareness.
“While voters weigh many factors in making their decisions about which candidates for whom to vote,” said Davis, “we want to make sure that candidates’ commitment to public education is one of those factors.”
The public is invited to the forum which will take place at Franklin Elementary School on 2400 Montana Ave. Light refreshments, school-aged childcare and Spanish translation will be available.
For more information, call (310) 395-4483 or online at www.excellentpublic-schools.org.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on September 18, 2004. Read the original PDF.