Parents and school officials debate school gift tax proposal
By JAMIE WETHERBE Special to the Daily Press
DISTRICT HDQTRS. — Officials are no closer to deciding on a controversial proposal to redistribute donations to the school district even though it has been months since the proposal’s introduction.
The debate of whether wealthy schools should be forced to share their funds with others was discussed for more than two hours by the local school board last Thursday night. However, no official position has been taken.
Approximately 30 people spoke on the proposed gift policy that would require every Santa Monica-Malibu school to put 15 percent of its cash donations into a central pot to be distributed throughout the district. This pot would then be divvied out at the start of the school year based on a school’s size and need.
The proposal — drafted by Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy — is aimed at creating more equality among schools that have long suffered from inequities in donations.
McKinley Elementary in Santa Monica raised about $30,000 from donors last year, while Pt. Dume Elementary in Malibu accrued $300,000 or more.
Parents contribute the bulk of the donations, but corporations also can add to school funds.
Supporters say the policy is a way to close the student achievement gap between affluent and lower income areas. Critics say they don’t want to lose control over where they put their money.
After hearing from Santa Monicans until 1 a.m., school board members briefly discussed with Deasy possible changes and clarifications to the policy. The next board meeting on Feb. 5 will take the issue to Malibu for residents to weigh in. The board will then vote on whether to put the plan in place.
Although a date has yet to be set for the board to take action, board members Oscar de la Torre and Mike Jordan seem to mirror the opinions of those in the community.
“I don’t think people understand what inequality means … (Santa Monica) is a tale of two cities. I would propose this program doesn’t go far enough,” he said, adding that he would like to see the district work to establish an even larger collective pot.
But critics say because the policy imposes few restrictions on how schools can use the money, donors will have difficulty designating their dollars.
“Corporations want money earmarked for specific needs,” said Jordan, who criticized the policy and said the gift share could eliminate that privilege. At first, “make the donations voluntary,” he said.
Under the policy, the money would be redistributed to the schools based on student enrollment, the number of students on free or reduced-price lunches programs, those who are English-language learners, the number handicapped students and the percentage of students who aren’t proficient in English and math.
Gleam Davis — both a parent and president of a parent-teacher association — would like to see the policy expanded.
“We like it so much, we want to be a part of it,” she said, suggesting that the gift policy also go beyond grades K-12 to include pre-kindergarten programs.
Craig Hamilton, 50, whose children attend Edison and Grant elementary schools, also said he favors the policy.
“Time, energy and effort are great at all of the schools,” Hamilton said, but “resources of families are so different.”
Other parents see the policy just an imposed tax on their donations.
“I find nothing forward thinking about a tax, especially to parents’ private donations,” said parent Lisa Doledo. She told the board she has seen a drop in corporate donors and worries that parents who donate this year will stop once the policy is in place.
“I have reservations,” said Jean Sedillos, who has been a district volunteer for 25 years. “The goal is fine. There has to be some voluntary component so parents don’t feel they’ve been taxed.”
Scholarships or small in-kind donations, like a computer, would be exempt from the collective pot, but large donations, like money for a playground, would not, Deasy said.
Deasy said that he’d like to see a public, independent company oversee the collective pot.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Teachers Association is in the process of reviewing the policy and has no official position yet, said Harry Keiley, the association’s president.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on January 27, 2004. Read the original PDF.