By Debbie Mulvaney Co-chair, LEAD
I, along with Laurie Lieberman, am the co-chair of LEAD, a new education advocacy group focused on Leadership, Effectiveness, Accountability and Direction for the Santa Monica—Malibu Unified School District. Our organization has added our name to the growing list of Santa Monicans who oppose RIFT, [the Residents’ Initiative to Fight Traffic.] LEAD is an advocate for transparent public decision-making processes, especially with regard to education policy. Contrary to LUCE, [the Land Use and Circulation Element,] RIFT was developed by a small private group and was never publicly reviewed before it was filed.
LEAD has given serious thought to our decision to oppose the RIFT measure. The biggest issue for LEAD is the impact on school funding. Independent analysis projects the city losing up to $11 million a year in 2008 dollars, by year 16 of this measure. There are several areas of revenue that will affect local schools, including developer fees and property taxes. The city of Santa Monica and the school district have an historic agreement that helps keep our schools strong and better funded than our state provides for. RIFT will put this funding agreement in jeopardy from day one. With state budget cuts constantly nipping at our heels, we cannot afford to put this city funding at risk.
Additionally, RIFT does not exempt youth-serving non-profit organizations such as the Boys & Girls Club and the Pico Youth and Family Center. These organizations would be hard-pressed to compete for square footage with a major developer under the RIFT measure.
Finally, we are concerned about RIFT’s lack of exemption for medical services that support our hospitals. These issues are too great to the health and welfare of our children to disregard.
LEAD feels that the unintended consequences of RIFT are simply too large for us to ignore. Our schools will be hurt financially by this measure and as we all know, strong schools give us strong communities. That is why LEAD opposes RIFT.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 5, 2008. Read the original PDF.