Superintendent and board are firm on stance that schools will suffer loss of programs and staffing.
By Michelle Logsdon/Special to The Malibu Times
Let the cutting begin. Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Superintendent John Deasy will have to pull out his red pen and start cutting expenditures now that voters squashed the parcel tax called Proposition EE-a measure that would have raised approximately $8 million for the financially beleaguered district this year.
After the final votes were tallied, Proposition EE received 61 percent of the vote, just shy of the 66 2/3 percent vote it needed to pass. Before the election, Deasy made it clear “there [would] be some serious cutbacks to support programs,” if the measure failed.
According to the 2000 Census figures, Malibu is home to approximately 12,600 people. This year, 8,558 people were registered to vote. Of those, 39 percent cast ballots on Nov. 5 and 54 percent of those voters said “yes” to Proposition EE. In Santa Monica, the voter turnout was 45 percent and 65 percent of those were “yes” votes for Proposition EE.
Deasy is keeping his word. SMMUSD’s Board of Education already has a list of proposed cuts and additional fees on its desks to be considered at the next board meeting, Nov. 21. The list includes doubling the transportation fee for busing and a hiring freeze aimed specifically at the Department of Special Education.
Laureen Sills is the parent of a first grader with autism. She recently founded the Malibu Special Education Foundation to help parents and the school district work together to get the most out of special education services. She expects the cuts to be devastating.
“There is no money for anybody right now, but for us, if we don’t have the services, I’d have to take my child to a private school and not get the benefit of being with typically developing children.”
Deasy’s proposed first round of cuts would save $2 million this year. But that’s only one-third of the deficit created by California’s lagging economy and the state’s tight pocketbook in education spending. Along with that, SMMUSD, like everyone else in the country, was hit hard by skyrocketing insurance costs after Sept. 11.
In order to make up the difference, approximately $5 million to $6 million will be cut from next year’s district budget. As soon as January, SMMUSD could eliminate elementary and middle school music and physical education.
The class size reduction program for kindergarten through third grade will not continue. That means the cap of 20 students per class will not be enforced. Advanced placement courses will be eliminated, as will classes with fewer than 14 students.
Staff reductions will include library coordinators for elementary schools, which means libraries will be closed at times while school is in session. Central office positions will not be filled when they are vacated and five teachers at every school will be cut.
“Our schools will be decimated, slaughtered; use whatever word you choose, it’s going to be devastating,” said Deirdre Roney, a parent and member of the board-appointed Parcel Tax Committee.
The 33-member committee prepared a document for the district Web site outlining the need for parcel tax funds. But some voters said they wanted more details about where the money would be spent. Malibu resident Ronald Meszaros voted against the measure for that reason.
“EE had a feeling of stealthness about it. The case was never truly made to me that it was necessary to pass such a huge measure for a 12-year tax.”
Roney believes the details were available to the public but understands why some residents such as senior citizens might have voted against the measure for financial reasons. She said the “no” votes weren’t the problem, it was voter apathy.
“The majority of people who came and voted said yes, but the louder statement was made by the people who did not vote.”
Roney believes that once the cuts become a reality, parents will be desperate to fix the problem. They probably won’t be able to vote on a parcel tax again in spring unless enough private or corporate funding can be raised to pay for another campaign and a spot on the ballot. That process cost $130,000 this election.
Deasy is also proposing a board policy that forbids individuals or groups from paying to replace programs at any one particular school. The program would have to be re-instituted throughout the district.
The cities of Santa Monica and Malibu might come to the district’s rescue if possible. Officials from both cities have been considering charter initiatives to redirect funds from city coffers to the district. The legality of that move is still under review. The Board of Education’s next meeting is Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. in the Santa Monica City Council Chambers at 1685 Main St.