Santa Monica-Malibu School District officials credit the increase in test scores and overall achievement at local schools to increased funding from taxes and contributions.
By Hans Laetz / Special to The Malibu Times
Flush with steadily improving test scores, Santa Monica-Malibu School District administrators and parent boosters called a news conference Monday to point out the results of infusions of cash contributions from the cities of Malibu and Santa Monica, and from parents, to local schools.
“Throwing money at the schools won’t solve the problems we face, but money matters,” said SMMUSD Board President Julia Brownley. “But it is obvious that the residents of Santa Monica and Malibu understand the role that public schools play: a vital element in creating desirable, safe and vibrant communities.”
Local taxpayers have approved parcel taxes that funneled $10.3 million to the district last year. The city council in Malibu donated $300,000 in municipal tax revenues to the school district, and Santa Monica, with its larger retail sales tax revenues, kicked in $6.2 million in unrestricted contributions to the local schools.
Add that up, and 16 percent of the school district’s tax funds come from local contributions, and district officials said they wanted to call attention to what residents are getting for the money.
But the rosy health of the public schools may end at the Santa Monica city limits, as a RAND Corp. researcher painted a dismal picture of the state’s commitment to public education. Brian Stecher, senior social scientist at RAND, pointed out that the approximate $5,500 per student that Sacramento sends to schools is $800 below the national average, and showed 30 years of data that links declining academic levels with withering public spending.
“California students do not do as well as their peers in other states; by some measures, they are dead last,” Stecher said. “And that is because we are, relative to other states, underfunding education.”
But against that bleak backdrop, acting Superintendent Mike Matthews was almost giddy in his blizzard of PowerPoint slides that show steady, and sometimes remarkable, increases in test scores on local campuses.
“It all comes down to this,” Matthews said. “We have a very clear mission that we want extraordinary achievement for all students, while simultaneously reducing the achievement gap. And if we can’t do it in Santa Monica-Malibu, we can’t do it anywhere.”
Brownley said 98 percent of the district’s high school students are graduating, and that 91 percent have passed the state’s exit exam. The district’s Academic Performance Index has inched upward from 773 to 806 over the past four years. And economically disadvantaged children, Matthews said, are improving faster than the rest of the class, closing the achievement gap.
“It’s great growth all around,” Matthews said. “You should be proud of the achievement.”
Although Monday’s results were for the district as a whole, district officials are preparing a breakout for the 20 percent of the students who attend Malibu’s five campuses. The Malibu school report card will be unveiled for parents at a special meeting May 23 at Webster Elementary School, 3602 Winter Canyon Rd.