Charter amendment may get early dismissal
By Daily Press staff
DISTRICT HDQTRS. — Members of the school board voted unanimously on Thursday to support a last-minute funding compromise intended to deflate the drive for a controversial charter amendment.
If the City Council also agrees to support the deal on Tuesday, leaders from the Community for Excellent Public Schools, which drafted the charter amendment, have agreed to abandon their campaign.
The compromise — negotiated behind closed doors by City Manager Susan McCarthy and John Deasy, superintendent of schools — calls upon City Hall to give the district at least $6 million a year for the next five years. Schools throughout California are reeling from budget cuts in Sacramento.
CEPS leaders added urgency to the discussions by gathering thousands of signatures in support of their charter amendment. If passed by voters, the amendment would have guaranteed schools at least $6 million the first year and substantially more if city revenues grew. It also would have lasted indefinitely.
Officials on both sides of the issue expressed optimism that the matter will be resolved without forcing it to the ballot, where local voters frequently have been asked to decide school funding issues. While a lengthy campaign was sure to be costly and fragment some segments of the community, resolving it through a compromise will help keep strong the ties between City Hall and local school groups, officials added.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on May 8, 2004. Read the original PDF.