Some say petition could damage tax proposal
A citizens group may propose an initiative that would require the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu to contribute more for their shared public school system.
Signature gathering could start soon for a proposal that would make it mandatory for Santa Monica and Malibu to use between 1.9 to 2.25 percent of their municipal budgets for education.
“The movement is afoot... to ensure a certain portion of the budget of the city as a whole contributes to the school district,” said Don Gray, a community activist who announced the proposal at a recent school district meeting.
In California, school districts currently receive the bulk of their funding from the state and federal governments. In the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, both cities also donate money to the school district.
Santa Monica gives about $3 million annually to its school district. However, under the proposal, $8.43 million of the city’s nearly $375 million annual budget could potentially be required to go to education, according to Gray.
“Funding for the school district by any means possible is needed,” Gray said. “Whatever it takes, the amounts being discussed cannot come close to covering what the district needs, so there must be a second source of funding.”
Though Gray said he is knowledgeable of the group, which may begin its signature gathering within a few weeks, he says he is not a member. And he declines to name the individuals who may begin circulating the petition.
Gray, who helped defeat a previous parcel tax measure on the Nov. 5 ballot, is now a member of Save Our Schools — an ad hoc committee that is writing the parcel tax proposal slated for the June 3 special election. Gray said he supports the idea of a parcel tax, but he wants it to exclude seniors and a property’s size, among other things.
A precipitous decline in state funding has sent the school district into an economic tail spin. In addition to axing nearly $4 million from it’s budget already this year, the school district will likely be forced to cut another $3.5 million by the end of the school year.
An additional $11 million in state funding will likely be removed next year, signaling another round of cuts may be required, officials said.
To cope with the loss of funding and preserve its academic programs, the school district will likely call a special June 3 election to decide the fate of a parcel tax, which is currently being written by a special committee.
However, SMMUSD Superintendent John Deasy has said the parcel tax would only be a temporary solution, and it wouldn’t raise nearly as much money as the state is decreasing its funding.
Gray said he believed a proposal requiring cities to cough up more money for education would not compete with any new parcel tax proposal.
“I think if anything it would complement the parcel tax,” he said. “It makes sense because the parcel tax isn’t going to cover the shortcomings of the current budget problems, and I think there is a need to cover those shortcomings.”
The next time such an initiative could be decided upon by voters would be during the November 2004 general election, officials said.
Some believe gathering signatures for such an initiative could damage the school district’s hope of having voters enact a new parcel tax.
“If they did gather signatures in the spring, it could have a negative affect,” said Neil Carrey, chair of the parcel tax committee. “If people think we can get the city to do it, then they might ask why have a parcel tax.”
Carrey said whatever the initiative could get out of the cities would not necessarily be enough. And he said because the proposal wouldn’t be decided upon for more than a year, it would leave the school district without enough funding for far too long.
Carrey also points out that the initiative could pass in Santa Monica but fail in Malibu, leaving one city paying more for the shared public school system than the other.
“There may be some advantages for them to wait anyway,” he said. “There are some people that would be very interested in doing something like this when there isn’t a parcel tax on the ballot.”
Peter Tigler, another community activist who worked with Gray to defeat the previous parcel tax measure, said he too has been in contact with the individuals who will propose the initiative.
Both Tigler and Gray said the initiative is still being written, though a formal proposal could be ready by the end of the week. They say the group does not solely consist of opponents of the previous parcel tax, and is much more broad-based.
“I think there are a number of residents who are tired of the city paying lip service to the school district,” Tigler said. “They give only a nominal amount to the district.”
“I think there are a number of residents who are tired of the city paying lip service to the school district.” — — PETER TIGLER Santa Monica resident
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 3, 2003. Read the original PDF.