News that the state collected $539 million less tax revenue than expected for July could result in additional cuts to the school district. Also, the district plans to establish a steering committee to avoid further racial incidents at Santa Monica High.
By Knowles Adkisson / The Malibu Times
Dismal economic news last week out of Sacramento has school district officials admitting to a growing likelihood of further budget cuts come December. State tax revenue plummeted in July, coming in $539 million less than expected. Jan Maez, the district’s chief financial officer, said Thursday last week that the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District would face more difficult decisions in December if state revenues continue to underperform.
Public education escaped cuts in the state’s recently approved budget, which was passed under the assumption that a growing economic recovery would result in $4 billion in extra tax revenue. But if the economy continues to struggle and state finance officials determine revenue to be $2 billion or more below expectations in December, cuts of $1.5 billion to state education would automatically kick in.
The loss in state funding would mean that SMMUSD’s dwindling reserves would be exhausted ahead of schedule, Maez said.
“I won’t say that we will go broke this [2011-12] year. But … we’re going to go broke sooner than we might have been planning,” Maez said at the district Board of Education’s meeting. “I think that the idea that we won’t see some mid-year cuts come December is fading pretty fast.”
District officials did not say whether the funding reductions would take the form of layoffs, elimination of programs or both.
The district has assumed responsibility in the 2011-12 school year for programs that were previously covered by one-time federal funding. The district is also negotiating with labor groups to schedule five unpaid furlough days that were in place for the 2009-10 and 2010-11 school years, at an annual savings of $2.2 million.
“I think unfortunately that from when we started this conversation the circumstances have changed,” board Vice President Ben Allen said. “So, I think we’re all very worried about the short-, medium- and long-terms.”
Board members acknowledged the possibility that the trigger cuts in state funding were real. The paltry July revenue reports were unrelated to last week’s turbulence in the stock market. That is bad news for California, which is more reliant than most states on revenue from capital gains taxes. Allen noted that the $4 billion in extra revenue thrown out by state lawmakers was based on the assumption that the stock market would continue to grow, which appears increasingly uncertain.
The discussion about further cuts followed a presentation by members of the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation about the group’s plans to ramp up private fundraising efforts. The foundation is a private organization made up of parents, teachers and community members that fundraises for the school district. It currently raises approximately $500,000 annually.
Foundation members said they were planning to double that figure by 2013 through alumni donations, an annual funding drive and sponsorships with area businesses, among other measures. They have also set a goal of establishing permanent endowments of $2 million for academics, arts and athletics by the end of 2013.
Steering committee to be established to avoid further racial incidents
Last week’s board meeting also featured an update on a recent closed meeting held to discuss the racial May incident at Santa Monica High School, when an African-American student was allegedly chained to a locker by two white members of the wrestling team and subjected to racial taunts. The school district plans to establish a steering committee to study what measures can be taken to avoid future incidents.
Kelly Pye, SMMUSD Parent Teacher Association Council president and a former school board member, called the meeting “a significant start to more discussions.”
The closed meeting included district staff, community members and students, but was closed to the public and local media. Pye said James Williams, III, a conciliation specialist for the United States Department of Justice who is advising the district in the process, recommended the meeting be closed in order “for people to feel this meeting would be a safe place to be completely candid about their feelings and be a place to promote understanding.”
“This is only the very first step in facilitating more dialogue about issues of race and respect in our community. You can be assured that there will be public conversations as we move forward in this process,” Pye said.