The following was addressed to Tim Cuneo, superintendent of schools and Mike Matthews, assistant superintendent
I would like to think that the purpose of SMMUSD is not to serve the teachers, the non-certificated staff, the administration, or students from other school districts, but to serve the students who live in Santa Monica and Malibu, providing them with the best educational opportunities possible.
When deciding on keeping or increasing inter-district permits, ask yourselves the following: Are the reading and math scores of every Santa Monica and Malibu resident student at grade level? Is every student from Santa Monica and Malibu graduating? Is the achievement gap of students from Santa Monica and Malibu closed? Are schoolwide test scores truly reflective of Santa Monica and Malibu resident students’ achievement levels, or are they inflated by the scores of inter-district permitted students?
Then, and only then, think of diluting and/or decreasing the educational opportunities for Santa Monica and Malibu students by granting inter-district permits, being cognizant that when you increase SMMUSD’s student population with students from other school districts, you will be adversely affecting the following opportunities for students who actually reside in Santa Monica and Malibu: Admissions to the UC system, which currently insures eligibility to the top 4% of each high school graduating class; eligibility for Pell Grants; leadership opportunities such as newspaper editor, yearbook editor, school and class officers, team captains, club officers, 1st chair positions in orchestra and band; honors such as valedictorian, salutatorian, student of the month; membership on sports teams, academic teams, science teams, newspaper and yearbook staffs; roles in school plays; parking spots; use of school resources.
In 2001-2002 SMMUSD realized the error of granting inter-district permits and imposed a moratorium. Since then it has eased up, resulting in 1,614 current out-of-district permits. That practice needs to stop. Inter-district permits are a cheap budget fix that rob other school districts of their better students and cheat every student who resides in Santa Monica and Malibu of the top-notch educational opportunity they deserve. That educational opportunity is why we live here, why we vote for bond measures and why our cities annually grant considerable extra funds to SMMUSD.
Susan Hartley