DAC discussion expected to surface at board meeting
CITY HALL — The attempts by elected school officials to clarify what roles citizen groups play within the district may have backfired, with many volunteers now questioning what kind of impact they can really make.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board of education revised its policies earlier this month regarding the role of District Advisory Committees — groups of citizens who inform and make suggestions to the board regarding issues related to local schools.
There are several committees specializing in such areas as child care, health and safety, special education and fine arts.
In the overall school district’s policy, school board members have voted to remove the line: “The functions of the DAC is to assist in the overall planning of the educational program and of budget resources.”
It remains unclear why the phrase was removed and has caused concern among some DAC members, who question what the revision means for the DACs.
District Advisory Committee members, many of whom are parents participating in the groups to affect change within the district, are now left questioning how much impact their involvement will have in light of the line’s removal.
Santa Monica resident Zina Josephs — who heads the fine arts committee and may be speaking with others about the issue at today’s school board meeting to be held at City Hall — said she has not yet drawn any conclusions by the removal of the language, but has begun to ask some questions.
“How does (getting rid of this line) change the role of the DACs?” Josephs asked. “I’m hoping the board can explain that to us.”
School officials said board member Kathy Wisnicki suggested the policy change be made in attempts to clarify the roles DACs have.
Wisnicki wasn’t immediately available for comment. However, she wrote a letter to the editor (Opinion, page 4).
John Deasy, SMMUSD superintendent, said the removal of the line has no effect whatsoever on what role the DACs will play.
“The roles haven’t changed one iota,” Deasy said.
Deasy pointed out that instead of reporting once a year to the board and making suggestions to it at that time, DACs will actually report and make suggestions to the board twice a year.
Deasy said he was baffled by a recent article published in the Jan. 11-17 issue of the Santa Monica Mirror which said that “Henceforth, the DACs will have no role in the overall planning of the education budget and of budget resources.”
Deasy, who believed the statement was a misprint, said he contacted the Mirror to request a clarification. He also said he furnished a letter to the editor to the Mirror to address the issue himself, but it was not published in this week’s paper.
Peggy Clifford, the Mirror’s editor, said that she had received two letters regarding the same topic from district representatives at deadline this past Tuesday. Clifford said she didn’t run either letter because she didn’t have editorial space.
Clifford, who wasn’t convinced a clarification of the article was needed and stood by the quality of the reporting, said she would be willing to run one of the letters in next week’s paper.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 19, 2006. Read the original PDF.