> ## 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. # Strings might get attached to school funding - URL: https://www.smdp.com/strings-might-get-attached-to-school-funding/ - Published: 2003-12-16T16:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-23T03:20:03.000Z - Author: John Wood - Tags: Education, Santa Monica, #archive-import *City Hall to consider contract with school district for multi-million donation* CITY HALL — Local officials want to take the guesswork out of how much money cash-strapped City Hall will give to the cash-strapped school district in coming years. For several years, City Hall has given local schools $3 million annually in exchange for the use of its facilities. Recently, it’s also gotten into the habit of handing over millions of dollars in last-minute, “one-time” donations. As budget woes worsen and school supporters continue to rely on City Hall for funding, officials are looking for a permanent fix. The City Council is expected to consider tonight whether a contractual arrangement should be made between the two entities. Though the parameters have not been set, City Councilman Herb Katz said he wants to contractually tie City Hall’s funding to the amount of money given to schools. In the long term, Katz said he was interested in having City Hall buy or lease land from the schools. “The school district is tired of coming to us every year and groveling for money,” Katz said. “We are in a position where we don’t have much money... and still they think we can give them more money, and that’s a problem.” A four-or five-year contract that sets up a formula and designates a certain portion of City Hall money for schools may be the answer, Katz said. He added that a contract may diffuse some of the political pressure put on local politicians to fund the schools when the state falls short. “If our revenue decreases, how the hell can we give them the same amount? That’s why we’re talking,” Katz said. John Deasy, superintendent of the Santa Monica- Malibu Unified School District, said the public expects a well-funded school system. “We’re open to all discussions with the City Council in trying to make ongoing support for the public schools dependable and regular, and increase,” he said. “I understand that the city is going through difficult times, but I also understand that the city’s actual budget grows every year as well, so the school (district’s) ability to share in that, as the residents expect, is good.” Deasy said he personally supports the idea that schools should shoulder some of the burden if City Hall collects less revenue in coming years. The school board hasn’t taken any position on the matter. “I believe strongly in the notion that the schools share in the gain but also share in the pain,” he said. “We’d never want to put the city in a situation where it had an obligation to suffer, so to speak, and we didn’t.” A more permanent fix to the problem may lie in a property arrangement between the two groups, some council members said. Katz is expected to join City Councilman Mike Feinstein in a request that City Hall staffers explore buying or leasing properties from the school. The idea, Katz said, would be to use City Hall funds to support schools while also buying something that may be good for the larger community. “We can get parks out of it. We can get open space. We can get maybe some parking, etcetera — and maybe even some housing,” Katz said. For example, Katz said City Hall could lease the Santa Monica High School soccer field and build a subterranean parking lot underneath it, or buy the Madison Campus, which is rented by Santa Monica College, and build an underground parking lot and some surface-level open space there. “It’s illegal to just give them money, because they’re an elected body with a whole budget of their own,” Katz said. “So what we’re trying to do is give them money and get something for it, and do something for the community all in one shot... I think we need to take the three entities, get out of the box and start looking at a longer term plan for the city. “This could be an overall, 30-year plan.” > “This could be an overall, 30-year plan.” — – HERB KATZ City Councilman While Deasy said he was looking forward to hearing council members discuss the concept, he cautioned that there are numerous restrictions governing how the district can use money generated by selling or leasing property. City Hall’s substantial donations to local schools is uncommon in other cities, according to a document prepared by City Manager Susan McCarthy and Steve Stark, City Hall’s finance director, who warned that coming months may bear more bad news for the economy. The bottom line, according to the document, is that expenditures are expected to be cut in order for them to meet revenues. More information will be provided by City Hall staffers in January. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 16, 2003.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/121603.pdf?ref=smdp.com)