With projections of growing state budget deficit, local funding of schools vital to continued success of district schools, officials say.
By Vicky Shere / Special to the Malibu Times
Parents in the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District got an earful of bad news/good news Monday from the district’s “State of Our Schools” report.
The presentation in Santa Monica was the first of two sponsored by the school district, the Community for Excellent Public Schools and the Santa Monica-Malibu PTA. A second presentation took place in Malibu Wednesday this week.
While they didn’t come out and say it outright, the reports by state Assemblymember Julia Brownley, school board President Kathy Wisnicki, Vice President Oscar de la Torre and Superintendent Dianne Talarico were a call for renewal of the district’s $346-per-parcel real estate tax to be voted on Feb. 5.
Brownley, who represents Malibu, told about 60 parents at the Santa Monica Public Library that while the state projected budget deficit was $5 billion, California’s formula to determine kindergarten to community college school funding could be switched to yield more than $6 billion over the next three years.
[Tuesday’s Los Angeles Times reported a potential $10 billion deficit and hinted that state administrative officers might ask schools to sacrifice some of the money they are guaranteed under voter-approved spending formulas.]
Wisnicki, the board’s lone Malibu resident, and de la Torre reviewed the “Top 10 Reasons Santa Monica-Malibu Schools are Great,” a PowerPoint presentation prepared by school backers.
“Local community funding provides 17 percent of district revenues, providing the critical difference between typical public education and the district’s world-class public schools,” the Santa Monica-Malibu Schools Communications Committee said.
In the district’s report, subtitled “A Community Report on Student Achievement and District-Wide Progress,” Talarico highlighted student scholastic achievement; progress on Proposition BB, the district’s school facilities construction bond; and how the parcel tax makes up for inadequate funding from state property and income taxes.
Brownley, chair of the Budget Subcommittee on Education, started off the presentation by reciting dismal numbers on the state’s performance compared to the rest of the nation.
According to the latest statistics, the 2005-2006 school year, California ranks 34th in the nation in terms of K-12 spending and spending as a percentage of personal income, and 48th in terms of student to teacher ratio, Brownley said.
“California remains well below the national average of investment in education,” Brownley said.
Yet California’s gloomy budget projections might identify new money under Proposition 98, the 1988 state Constitution amendment that establishes a minimum annual funding for K-12 schools, Brownley said.
“The unexpected volatility in property tax revenue” might push funding from Test 2 to Test 1, said Brownley, referring to Proposition 98’s funding formula depending on Growth in Per Capita Personal Income and General Fund Revenues, respectively. Test 1, which has not been used since 1988-89, provides a smaller percentage of General Fund revenue but a higher dollar amount than Test 2, Brownley said.
The additional revenue might bring K-12 schools $5.9 billion and community colleges $750 million, Brownley noted.
The parcel tax renewal is critical to district successes, school backers say. It has enabled the hiring of 50 teachers and the teachers are highly qualified. Nearly 60 percent of teachers hold a master’s degree or doctorate, compared with just 39 percent in Los Angeles County or 35 percent statewide.
The parcel tax revenue is also credited for the stellar marks that students get on state tests. Academic test scores exceed the California statewide average by more than 100 points, school backers said.
Calling it “world-class funding,” matching the district slogan “World Class Schools,” Talarico said the district has received an upgraded bond rating on its $268 million school facilities construction bond, Measure BB. The upgraded rating by Moody’s Investors Service from Aa3-Aa2 means a lower interest payment, Talarico said.
Construction is expected to start early next year, Talarico said.
The second State of our Schools presentation will take place in Malibu at 6:30 p.m., Nov. 7, at Webster Elementary School, 3602 Winter Canyon Road. Assemblymember Brownley will host a forum on pre-K-12 finance and reform, 10 a.m. – noon, Nov. 8, at City of Agoura Hills Council Chambers, 300001 Ladyface Court, Agoura Hills. The school district report, “The State of our Schools,” will be available Nov. 9 on the school district Web site, smmusd.org.