“Is it fair that 15 percent of cash donations be distributed throughout all schools in the district?” Here are your responses: (Editor’s note: Due to the overwhelming number of responses to this question, not all comments received could be printed. We thank you for calling, and if your response doesn’t appear, we encourage you to write a letter to the editor). ■ “The 15 percent of donations (that would be distributed) to all schools is the most ludicrous thing I have ever heard of. The United Fund is readily available for even distribution of funds for certain efforts. This proposal means that the ‘haves’ are supporting the ‘have-nots’ with their own money, as well as their tax money. The tax money is plenty to take care of these schools that are not getting contributions from the parents or supporters in their district. Do not further burden taxpayers with supporting schools other than their own.” ■ “With the exception of the Santa Monica School District parcel tax that charges the less-affluent homeowner the same amount of tax that the affluent pay, the affluent, for the most part, pay higher property taxes than the less-affluent property owner. As a result, the less-affluent tax dollars end up with the various school districts. If the affluent donations are distributed throughout the district schools, the gifts will drop off dramatically. A fact of life is that the affluent get perks and the less affluent work towards becoming affluent and get welfare. It has always been that way.” ■ “I am an assistant principal at Lincoln Middle School, the parent of four kids attending Santa Monica schools and a long-term member of this community. I feel very strongly that it is not only fair that 15 percent of donations be shared out among the less-affluent schools, but I think it is perfectly in keeping with board policy to close the achievement gap, which I think is a very laudable, noble and appropriate goal, as well as a very difficult goal for a school district to achieve. The notion that the new proposal could be used for that purpose makes it the right thing to do. I’m fully in support of the proposal, targeted at closing the achievement gap between students achieving at or above grade level and those who are achieving below their grade level.” ■ “Yes, the proposal is fair. It is the fair thing to do. We should start acting like a community and support each other.” ■ “I am a former president of the Santa Monica High School Student Council and a current resident of Santa Monica. I would like to say that I am currently in favor of the 15-percent gift policy and that nothing is more important in this district than equity. I hope we vote for it.” ■ “I am a parent of two children at schools in the district. I am in favor of the proposed policy because I think it instills the values of looking at the world globally, with generosity. I want my children to see us acting to support other parts of our community. I think that is very important. I also think that more time needs to be spent realizing that, while at present our children might be at an affluent elementary, they ultimately feed through a middle school to one of two high schools. So any time that we are contributing will benefit our children further down the line. I look at, eventually, strengthening our high schools in the future.” ■ “Our kids are in their last years of high school, and all along we’ve donated and the process was simple. No attempt was ever made to bypass any rules or regulations — it was simply, ‘If there is a need, solve it.’ Distributing 15 percent of donations is absurd. Realistically, the parents who are donating the most, oftentimes, are parents who could afford to send their children to private schools. If a bureaucracy is created where you micro-manage gifts, certainly some of those people are going to bail out and say, ‘Good-bye, Santa Monica school system.’ It is obvious that these ideas are not beneficial to kids, and the administration needs to stop fiddling around with them.” ■ “People should be able to contribute to specific schools. For starters, Malibu should pay for their own schools, instead of being subsidized by Santa Monica taxpayers. That would free up money for Santa Monica schools, which should be the primary concern. The affluent Malibu residents can support their schools without Santa Monica’s help.” ■ “As a parent of a school-aged child living on the south side of Santa Monica, I whole-heartedly support the distribution proposal. The south side typically has and gets less of the school district’s resources. In fact, I think that the 15 percent does not go far enough in addressing the inequities.” ■ “I think that it is not fair that the cash be distributed throughout the district. I think that if you make a donation, you should be able to choose the school which you want to donate to.” ■ “I absolutely believe the new donation distribution proposal is the right decision. We have extremely rich resources in our community and I think that they need to be shared amongst our students so that we don’t have a red line for poor schools and rich ones. The whole community should be able to benefit from the good graces of those who are able to contribute.” ■ “I have a child at an elementary school in the district and I believe that it is fair, without question, that 15 percent of (donations) be distributed throughout the district. I can’t imagine living in a community where those kinds of inequities would be allowed to continue to exist. I am happy to have the opportunity to see them changed.”
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 12, 2003. Read the original PDF.