> ## 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.

# School district forced to cut
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/school-district-forced-to-cut/
- Published: 2007-05-21T15:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-24T00:47:37.000Z
- Author: Melody Hanatani
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

*Nine schools are facing teacher reductions*

CITYWIDE The economic pinch of declining student enrollment over the past five years is set to take its toll on the district as about 26 teaching positions will be cut in the next school year.

The reduction of 26 full-time equivalent teaching (FTE) positions is reflected in the preliminary general fund budget for the 2007-2008 school year, which was presented to the Board of Education for the first time at Thursday’s meeting. It was the board’s first glance at a fully detailed budget for the next fiscal year.

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has lost hundreds of students since the board enacted a moratorium on non-district residing students five years ago, losing millions of dollars in revenue as a result. Despite declining enrollment, the district actually welcomed more teachers during that time period.

About 181 less students are expected in the 2007-2008 school year, translating into a loss of about $1 million.

The changes in FTEs are an attempt to align student enrollment with the actual teaching staff.

With about 30 teachers expected to retire at the end of this year, the cuts in FTEs will be made through attrition as the district will hire fewer and fewer teachers, said Harry Keiley, president of the Santa Monica- Malibu Classroom Teachers Association.

“Although it’s not what we would prefer, we realize that over time, you cannot have a system in which you decrease student enrollment and increase the number of adults you have in the system,” Keiley said on Friday.

The FTE changes will be seen in Grant Elementary School, which will lose a full time equivalent position, Will Rogers Elementary with three less FTEs, Roosevelt Elementary (1), Webster Elementary (1), John Adams Middle School stands to lose the most teaching positions with seven spots being eliminated for the 2007-2008 school year.

One of the most notable differences between the preliminary general fund budget presented on Thursday and the budget worksheets that administrators have tackled over the past few months is the drop in the anticipated deficit. On May 3, Chief Financial Officer Dr. Stephen Hodgson presented a worksheet that reflected an approximately $3 million deficit for the upcoming 2007-2008 school year. The full preliminary budget presented on Thursday showed a deficit of about $410,000.

That deficit would lead to a surplus if City Council approves a $750,000 increase in its annual payment to the school district under the Master Facility Use Agreement, which currently brings in about $6.5 million annually to the district. The increase would bring the total annual contribution under the agreement to approximately $7.2 million.

Looking three years into the future, the district is anticipating about a $1.8 million deficit.

The district is also set to lose two revenue streams in the next few years — Measure S, which will bring in about $6.4 million next year, is set to expire in 2009; and Measure Y, which will generate about $3.9 million next year, will expire in 2011\. The board is pondering asking voters to renew the two parcel taxes.

Two members of the district’s Financial Oversight Committee — Chairman Paul Silvern and Cynthia Torres — praised Hodgson and the staff at Fiscal and Business Services, but warned that a reserve level that is only 3 percent of the general fund budget is not sufficient.

“We urge (the district) to continue to look at ways to close the gap in the operating deficit and have more than a bare minimum of three percent reserve,” Silvern said.

Torres suggested ways the district could bring in more revenue, including encouraging parents to be sure their children attend school every day. The district faces a “financial penalty” for absences, Torres said.

The budget is still in a fluid stage and has a ways to go before it is formally approved by the school board on June 28 and submitted to the Los Angeles County Office of Education on June 29.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 21, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/052107.pdf?ref=smdp.com)