SCHOOLS, from page 1 Schools still face $1M in cuts
The cash-strapped school district got more than a million-dollar reprieve from the city council Tuesday.
The city of Santa Monica, facing its own harsh economic realities with a $9 million budget shortfall, found an extra $1.5 million to give to the school district.
The city council voted 6 to 1, with Mayor Mike Feinstein dissenting, to redirect the money from the library’s capital improvement fund to the school district. With the one-time contribution from the city, the school district is now only facing a $1 million shortfall.
Feinstein said he was supportive of giving the money to the district, but voted against the contribution because as the council began pouring over its own budget cuts on Tuesday, he felt the entire budget should be adopted at once instead of “piece mealing” it, as the rest of the council voted to do.
More than three dozen people spoke in favor of the council giving the money to the district, which weighed heavily in the decision.
“While this isn’t a traditional expense for our city to make, it’s something our residents demand of us this year,” said Councilman Ken Genser.
On Monday, the board of education voted to cut $1.6 million from the school district’s budget. School officials had asked the city to give another $2 million on top of the $3 million it already gives annually to the district.
But even with the city’s last-minute decision to give the district the extra money, the district still has to find another $1 million to cut, which could be decided by the end of the month.
It is unknown when Malibu will decide whether or not to grant the district’s request for an extra $250,000 this year.
“We have a balanced budget,” said Superintendent John Deasy before Tuesday’s council meeting. “But if the city provides us with more funding they will be in the position to restore some things that would otherwise have to be trimmed.”
After the council’s decision, Deasy said: “I’m very appreciative of the council’s continued support. We are living in the same economic climate the city is living in.”
As far as the other $1 million that has to be trimmed from the budget, the school board asked Deasy and his staff to prepare a detailed line item budget outlining specifically what additional cuts are being proposed and an explanation of the effects they will have on students during the next school year.
“They (board members) don’t want to make any cuts,” Deasy said. “They were comfortable with the changes we have made in what we are proposing to cut but not necessarily cutting the budget.”
Earlier this year the school district was facing a $4.5 million deficit, but found $2 million through state funding and internal sources.
With Monday’s cuts, the school district will not be able to fill some vacant positions and have less resources to work with next school year.
The school board reduced funding for supplemental staff next year by $478,377. The cuts will lower money dedicated for teaching stipends, clerical positions and eliminating a summer custodian substitution job.
The school district has cut $500,135 in non-staff spending, which ranges from cell phones and traveling to new text books and mileage reimbursements.
And the district has reduced $665,630 by carrying over medical insurance costs, rolling over state lottery revenues into the next year and reducing capital equipment costs by 10 percent.
The school district has prepared a second list of deeper budget cuts, if needed.
During the next two budget years, the school district is facing more than a $5 million deficit, resulting mostly from drastic cuts in state funding and dramatic increases in expenses.
Deasy has called for a 250 percent increase in parcel taxes over the next three years that would go before voters in Santa Monica and Malibu this November. However, the parcel tax increase would not take affect until the 2003-2004 budget. The school district has appointed an ad-hoc parcel tax committee to study whether the increased tax is warranted, how much the increase should be and to write out how the question will appear on the ballot.
The school district is expected to hear the committee’s full report at the June 27 school board meeting.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on June 19, 2002. Read the original PDF.