for more Malibu High funds
The Shark Fund has raised $435,000 to offset a $870,000 shortfall in this year’s Malibu High School budget, but board members say more help is needed.
By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times
A “full-court press” is underway to enlist Malibu citizens and families in support of Malibu High School not only financially, but also in time and effort for a host of sorely needed activities and repairs, said Michael Kaiser, chairman of the Board of Directors of the Shark Fund.
A 501(c)(3) tax-exempt, not-for-profit corporation, the Shark Fund is the school’s umbrella fundraising organization. It was formed in 2003 by a dedicated group of parents and concerned residents to help Malibu High “realize its true potential,” as stated in the organization’s charter.
“The school had a shortfall of $870,000 in this year’s budget of $1,150,000,” Kaiser said in a recent interview. “We’ve already raised about $435,000, so we still have an equal amount to bring in. Money is needed for everything from books and equipment to the arts, sports, technology, special education and extracurricular activities.”
Financial support, or rather the paucity of it, from government sources, particularly the state, has long been a sore point with groups involved in fundraising for the school. California currently ranks at the bottom of the list, 50th of all the states in the nation, in per-student spending, the Shark Fund Web site notes.
All public schools in California receive virtually identical funding: $5,256 per pupil per year. Ninety percent of the state funding goes to pay teachers, staff, and administration. This leaves $526 per pupil to pay for every other cost at Malibu High, from computers to textbooks, supplies, arts programs, 23 sports programs and custodial care. Some cities have been able to meaningfully supplement state funding but this has not happened at Malibu High in any material way, according to the Web site.
Kathy Wisnicki, Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District Board member representing Malibu, pointed out that the city of Malibu contributed $380,000 directly to the district in 2003 but had to cut that figure by more than half the following year.
“Then this year, as last, the city contributed $155,000 to the district, plus giving $136,000 to Malibu High School in a ‘Joint Use Agreement’ in which the city leases various school properties that the school uses for its regular curriculum activities,” she said.
“Twenty percent of the school budget comes from local sources such as parcel taxes. The city of Santa Monica, admittedly with much greater tax revenue available, gave more than $6 million to the district this year.”
“The city is limited in what it can contribute financially,” explained Malibu city Councilmember Jeff Jennings, who has been deeply involved with Malibu schools for many years. “The amount we have available is limited by our tax base, for one thing. Most of our contact is through the school board and our aid goes directly to the SMMUSD. Contributions to private organizations such as the Shark Fund must be made through our General Fund Grant Program.”
Not all of the money collected by the Shark Fund goes directly to Malibu High School. The SMMUSD has an Equity Fund provision that requires 15 percent of all nonexempt contributions made to the district to be distributed equally among all schools in the district, Wisnicki explained. Thus $10,000 of $20,000 the Shark Fund donated to the district last year was returned directly for the school’s use. But an additional $10,000 was given back by the district through the Equity Fund distribution.
“This money went to support a summer school intervention program at Malibu High for students who had fallen behind in their studies,” Wisnicki said. “So, in essence, 100 percent of the money contributed by the Shark Fund to the SMMUSD came back to Malibu High, which doesn’t necessarily happen every year. We actually benefited from the Equity Fund requirement because this was the first time in years we were able to have such a program. About 40 students participated.”
Both Jennings and Wisnicki praised the work of the Shark Fund in raising the awareness of the general public to the financial needs of Malibu High, as well as its success in helping raise funds to meet them. But the school also needs physical help from volunteers among its parents and Malibu residents, many of whom are probably unaware of the enormity of the school’s needs, Kaiser pointed out.
“I’ve been thinking about buying a load of blue paint myself and organizing parents and students to come out and paint some of the bleached-out buildings,” he said. “We need about $45,000 for campus beautification alone. Some of our campus facilities are a joke-bathrooms and lockers, for example.
“Malibu High is a wonderful school; it currently ranks near the top in the nation: 188th out of 27,000 high schools. Our youth deserve support from all of us, and from the civic sector as well.”
“Currently, only 42 percent of students’ parents are actively supporting the school in any way,” he added.
Efforts being undertaken or planned to enlist greater participation among Malibu citizens and parents include a mailing to parents who have not yet contributed time or money, personal contact by volunteers at the drop-off and pickup area in front of the school and other fundraising events such as a Texas Hold- ‘Em tournament and a golf tournament, Kaiser said. The business community is being offered free advertising space on the fund’s Web site in return for a contribution to the school, he added.
Serving with Kaiser on the Shark Fund Board of Directors are Russ Haft, vice chairman; Patricia Schwartz, CFO/treasurer; and Lisa Toledo, secretary. Other directors include Cindy Block, Carolyn Diemer, Tony Dorn, Karen Farrer, Laura Zahn Rosenthal and Scott Schwartz.