By Daily Press staff
“It just didn’t seem appropriate to carry on business as usual,” said Superintendent John Deasy, who concluded the meeting shortly after 8 p.m. School board meetings regularly run into the early hours of the morning.
Board members agreed to table one item on the agenda — the middle school algebra plan — and moved through the remaining items at a quickened pace.
The middle school algebra plan will be discussed at the next meeting, when it can receive the “due exposure” it deserves, according to board members. The plan proposes “accelerating” math requirements at middle schools so that all students can take geometry in their first year of high school.
Also discussed at the meeting was changing the budget reinstatement plan, which provides a potential “road map” for recovery from the $13.7 million the district has cut from the 2003-2004 budget.
Deasy recommended five elementary school librarians be included in the first “bundle” of positions that will be brought back if money becomes available. The first bundle is worth $6.3 million and currently includes:
• 21 elementary teachers, two elementary assistant principals, one elementary principal, 20 middle school teachers, 25 high school teachers, two nurses, six and two-thirds elementary music teachers, fine and one-fifth music aides and accompanists, one fine arts coordinator, four groundskeepers, four administrative assistants, two fiscal service workers, two personnel positions, one career center specialist and five elementary librarians.
In order to make room for the librarians, four positions — two grounds keepers and two administrative assistants — that were previously in the first bundle were pushed into the second bundle.
The board is hoping that a proposed $225 flat parcel tax — to be levied on all properties in Santa Monica and Malibu for the next six years — will be approved by voters in June. If it passes, the parcel would generate approximately $6.5 million annually for the beleaguered school district, allowing it to bring the first bundle of positions back.
The district has also requested $3.5 million from the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu. If both sources of revenue come through, officials say the second bundle of jobs will be reinstated.
The second bundle costs $3.5 million and includes:
• Two administrative positions, three and one-fifth nurses, four elementary librarians, one and two-fifths middle school librarians, two high school librarians, 10 and nine-tenths P.E. aides, one P.E. coordinator, three computer lab technicians, 1 and nine-tenths classroom aides, 12 groundskeepers, 11 administrative assistants, four fiscal services positions, two personnel positions, two special assignments staff positions, one personnel position, one fiscal services supervisor, one textbook coordinator and one-quarter of a position in the superintendent’s office.
Positions in the third bundle will be reinstated as funds become available. They are:
• One educational services position, one classified personnel director, seven and one-third athletic support staff positions, three groundskeepers, three administrative positions, two purchasing positions, one-quarter of a cafeteria position and 24 special service contracts for independent contractors.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 21, 2003. Read the original PDF.