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# Sojourn sparks city debate over ‘slush’ funds
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/sojourn-sparks-city-debate-over-slush-funds/
- Published: 2005-11-01T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T08:06:11.000Z
- Author: Ryan Hyatt
- Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import

*At their discretion: Leaders debate allocations*

CITY HALL — A fund-raising effort on behalf of sending a Santa Monica teacher to China has spurned debate among elected officials as they determine the most appropriate way to spend city slush funds.

Santa Monica City Councilman Kevin McKeown asked his colleagues last week to use $1,000 in discretionary funds for a matching grant to support local public school teacher Linda Kovaric’s trip to China. McKeown, who works for the local school district as an informational technology consultant, asked the council to approve the allocation so that Kovaric, who teaches at John Adams Middle School, may participate in a U.S.-China education conference to be held in Beijing during the first week of December.

The City Council approved the allocation by a 4-2 vote. Santa Monica Mayor Pam O’Connor and Councilman Bobby Shriver voted against it, arguing it may not be fair to issue such a grant without providing standards by which other teachers might be eligible to apply. City Councilman Richard Bloom wasn’t present for the meeting.

Previous allocations by the City Council to support local students and teacher activities have stirred controversy in the past. While school advocates argue such practices are reasonable for a cash-strapped district, others say it’s not necessarily City Hall’s place to back the efforts of individual students and teachers.

According to Steve Stark, City Hall’s finance director, the City Council is issued an annual allowance which elected officials can use at their discretion.

For fiscal year 2003-04, the City Council had $75,500 in slush funds, spending $27,500\. Of that sum, the City Council spent $25,000 to send students from Santa Monica High School to Vienna, Austria, so that they could participate in a music event.

For fiscal year 2004-05, the City Council spent $68,000 of an available $74,500\. Of those expenditures, $25,000 went toward sending students from Santa Monica High School to Hawaii, while another $15,000 was put toward Santa Monica College’s Fourth of July celebration.

For fiscal year 2005-06, the City Council has $74,500 at its disposal. So far, $1,000 of that is set to be spent in order to send Kovaric to China, Stark said.

At the Oct. 25 meeting, the City Council offered their opinions on McKeown’s request. Meanwhile, City Attorney Marsha Moutrie — who seemed to have concerns about the parameters of McKeown’s request — chimed in for a point of clarification.

“I believe you need to indicate there will be some public use when you spend public money,” Moutrie said. “Such requests have been denied (in the past) because there’s no public benefit.”

City Councilman Bob Holbrook said he supported the allocation, in part, because he said he supports the school district’s efforts.

It was a point that caused some wincing on the dais.

“You’ve put me in an awkward position,” McKeown told Holbrook.

McKeown explained he was employed by the school district, and as such, any money he’s requested that would benefit it may seem unseemly if not exercised in the proper manner.

Likewise, McKeown asked Holbrook to re-state for the record that the $1,000 would go toward the John Adams Parent Teacher Student Association, a non-profit group which will allocate the money to Kovaric.

Holbrook obliged McKeown’s request. O’Connor and Shriver both expressed concern the allocation wasn’t part of an anticipated public process in which other teachers might be able to participate.

“There might be several teachers who may be qualified for such funding. What about them?” O’Connor asked. “Did they know they can come to City Hall and make such a request? Can they?”

O’Connor said it would be more prudent for City Hall to establish guidelines by which it may vet such requests publicly.

“I take the mayor’s point quite seriously,” Shriver said.

Kovaric, who was present at the City Council meeting, declined to speak about the planned trip. However, the council asked that she might make a brief presentation upon her return to share her experiences with the public.

This past spring, the Santa Monica City Council signed an agreement in which City Hall will contribute $6 million to local public schools annually for the next five years to help maintain the district’s level of programming. City Hall also gives millions to the district in the form of in-kind services and other partnership agreements.

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 1, 2005.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/110105.pdf?ref=smdp.com)