> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # No seconds for some schools - URL: https://www.smdp.com/no-seconds-for-some-schools/ - Published: 2007-10-16T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T03:27:22.000Z - Author: Kevin Herrera - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *Parents send letter to board members requesting funding* SAMOHI Parents concerned that students here will not be getting their fair share of funding for new facilities and practice fields fired off a letter over the weekend to school board members and district officials asking for more money to be spent on the aging campus — where the vast majority of local kids ultimately attend. Members of the Coalition for an Excellent SAMOHI Campus argue that district staff’s funding proposal “seriously shortchanges” the high school, which is in dire need of $65 million worth of improvements — not the $38.4 million tentatively set aside by the district. The letter was signed by parent and SAMOHI PTA President Judith Meister; Elizabeth Gelfand Stearns, a parent and member of the Education Foundation for the Arts; and Laurie Lieberman, a parent and member of the Youth Athletic Foundation. “Samohi’s campus, which should be a source of community pride, matching the excellence of our students, teachers, administrators and parent volunteers, is instead an embarrassment, suffering from decades-long neglect,” the parents wrote. “We recognize this means committing a disproportionate share of (Measure) BB funds to Samohi … but we firmly believe that — as a matter of fairness and sensible district strategic planning — this is the right course to follow.” School board members are expected to vote on how to spend more than $190 million this Thursday. District officials have been developing a spending plan since voters approved of Measure BB last November. The $268 million bond, which passed with 67 percent of the vote, was necessary for the district to follow through with a lengthy, facilities master plan process, which took more than a year to develop. As part of that process, residents participated in various meetings where they charted out the future course of local schools. School Superintendent Dianne Talarico defended the proposal submitted by staff, saying that it puts a greater focus on secondary schools, in particular, Santa Monica and Malibu high schools. The proposal also ensures that every school in the district receives a piece of the Measure BB pie. “I believe that our high schools should be the flagships of our system and our communities, and I believe that the first amount of dollars we are putting into them represent about 30 percent of total funding, so I think that speaks to our commitment,” Talarico said. It is important for parents to remember that the facilities master plan is a 20-year process that will require more than a billion dollars to complete and Measure BB funding only provides a little over a quarter of that, Talarico said. “We wanted to spread the money around to make sure everyone can make improvements, but we wanted to focus on the secondary schools because we wanted to bring them into the 21st Century and make them state-of-the-art facilities because students in those grade levels are handling more complex subjects,” the superintendent continued. There just isn’t enough money to go around, school board members said, which is why it is important to make sure money is spent wisely. That may mean putting more dollars in Samohi while they are available. School board member Jose Escarce said some of his colleagues have expressed concern about the amount of funding allocated to Samohi, hinting the shape of the funding plan could change Thursday. “My own view is that the concerns expressed in the letter are quite legitimate, well founded, and there is no doubt that the board will listen carefully to the public and really consider if this is the allocation we want,” Escarce said. Under the current plan, the secondary schools would receive about $105.9 million in renovations, while the rest would go to the elementary schools, with Edison Language Academy receiving the lion’s share. The language academy, which is currently comprised of a cluster of portable classrooms, would receive a new 650-student K-8 school, complete with a new playing field and playground. The coalition is calling on the district to set aside funding for more parking at the campus or the adjacent Civic Center Parking Structure, a joint-use agreement with City Hall for a planned athletic field in the Civic Center, and possibly new athletic facilities. That is on top of the projects already identified by staff, including demolishing the business building and erecting an Applied Instruction Building in its place. The high school would also see new subterranean parking garage with tennis courts above, a new synthetic turf athletic field and a new outdoor plaza. Oscar de la Torre, school board vice president, said that while everyone would like more money, the reality is that there just isn’t enough. Samohi may be the largest school in the district, but there are others that have been doing without for far too long and need funding to be more competitive. “Parents are justified in raising concerns about phase one because there are significant needs at Santa Monica High School that are currently unmet,” de la Torre said. “But there is also the concept of fairness and that is something that needs to be debated. What is fair to someone who has been accustomed to having money is different compared to someone who has never had anything.” The disagreement poses a serious challenge for the school board and the district. In order to complete the master plan process, more bonds will have to be issued and approved by the voters. If they do not feel as if money is being spent wisely, they may make their feelings apparent at the polls. Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, hopes it doesn’t get to that point. “At the end of the day, everyone is advocating for what they believe to be in the best interest of the children in Santa Monica, Malibu and our school district,” Keiley said. “To get everyone to agree on how to best allocate the BB resources will be almost impossible. What we cannot allow to happen is for these differences to divide those of us dedicated to improving our schools and education our children. “With any family, there will always be disagreement,” Keiley added.“But it is how that disagreement is expressed that makes the difference.” *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on October 16, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/101607.pdf?ref=smdp.com)