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# State bill could stave off school district cuts
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/state-bill-could-stave-off-school-district-cuts/
- Published: 2003-02-01T16:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-23T01:27:09.000Z
- Author: Andrew Fixmer
- Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import

*Still needs to clear Senate and Governor’s office*

The state Assembly voted this week to delay cutting funds to California’s public schools until next year, and the decision has Santa Monica educators breathing a sigh of relief.

Though the bill needs to clear the Senate and gain Gov. Gray Davis’ approval to take effect, it would allow officials to put off a $3.5 million reduction in funding to the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.

The financial situation looked so bleak for the school district that Superintendent John Deasy had proposed closing schools and sending all employees home for 10 days without pay to close the deficit.

But that plan, along with other drastic proposals to solve the mid-year budget crunch, would be shelved if the Assembly bill passes, officials said.

“The way it affects us is that instead of making a mid-year cut it will be made during the next fiscal year,” said Ken Bailey, the district’s finance director. “I would prefer it this way because it gives us time to plan.”

Local Assembly members said they support delaying the funding reductions because making midyear cuts for school districts is difficult.

“Schools aren’t necessarily off the hook,” said Assemblywoman Fran Pavley (D-Woodland Hills). “The message from Sacramento is that they will have to be part of the solution but we recognize it would be difficult in the current budget year.

“But they are facing decreased funding next year, but this way at least they have eight months to take that into consideration,” she added.

The school district would have to borrow the money from a short-term lender to cover its financial obligations until next year, Bailey said.

Santa Monica’s public school system is facing a nearly $14.5 million annual loss of state funding. That figure accounts for more than 20 percent of the district’s $65 million budget.

To make up for part of the lost funds, the school board Thursday night approved putting a $225 parcel tax before voters in a June 3 special election that would reap $6.5 million a year for the district.

The remaining funding gap will likely be made up through a combination of service and program cuts, and an increase in fees on everything from busing to cafeteria lunches.

About 1,000 concerned parents, students and district employees marched during a City Council meeting last month to convince its members to set aside more money for its public schools.

They are asking the city to increase its voluntary $3.5 million annual donation to $7 million to avert steep cuts to academic programs — including art, music and sports.

Bailey said the school district also is seeking approval from the state Legislature to bend requirements that force it to reserve much of its budget.

The district wants the state to relax requirements to set aside 3 percent of its budget for maintenance costs and another 3 percent for an emergency reserve. And the district would like the state to defer increased payments into the California Public Employees Retirement System until the budget crisis has passed.

Deasy has asked the state to relax class size ratios of 23 students for every Kindergarten to third grade classroom.

“What we are asking for is that the class size... be an average of all classes in the district, with no class having more than 22 students,” Bailey said. “As long as we stay within that district wide... I think we could deliver the program with the same efficiency and not have to suffer the consequences.”

Pavley agreed the state should give educators as many options as they can until the budget crisis is over.

“I would prefer putting out wide latitudes of flexibility and allowing individual school districts to pick through the options and decide what makes sense for them,” she said. “Each school district, if the state softens the cap, would need to decide for themselves if they need to implement it. And if they do I hope it would be under relatively temporary terms.”

*Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on February 1, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/020103.pdf?ref=smdp.com)