Malibu parents criticized the Equity Fund proposal at a morning meeting, while parents from Santa Monica school praised it at a school board meeting that night.
By Leah Barta/Special to The Malibu Times
and Jonathan Friedman/Staff Writer
Within a 24-hour period, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Superintendent John Deasy heard two radically different receptions to his gift policy proposal. Thursday morning he met with parents at a Malibu High School PTA meeting, with those in attendance at one point angrily screaming at Deasy in opposition to his proposal. Later, at the Board of Education meeting, parents from one of Santa Monica’s poorest schools spoke in favor of the idea.
The proposal, which was released in November and appeared for the first time Thursday before the Board of Education for discussion, would require 15 percent of all donations made to a school to go into a district equity fund. The money would then be redistributed to all the schools in the district based on a formula that takes several elements into consideration, including socioeconomic standing, student populations and education abilities. Also, if a nonmonetary donation is made, such as a playground or a computer lab, a cash equivalent of 15 percent of the value of that donation must be made to the equity fund.
“People who have the means to give to the school to the best of our ability will not give if what you’ve done is take away the incentive to have these great programs,” said Malibu High School parent Cindy Vandor at the morning meeting.
Deasy told Vandor that the Malibu High School programs would not be taken away. A parent then screamed out, “If you take our money away, they will [be taken away].”
Although a few parents at the PTA meeting supported the proposal, a majority did not. By the end of the meeting, which began as a civil question-and-answer session, parents were screaming at Deasy as the scene got out of control.
The parents suggested Deasy’s proposal gave parents in the poor areas of Santa Monica a disincentive to donate their time and money to the schools. This sharply contrasted with Thursday night’s board meeting, with most of the speakers being parents from Edison Language Academy, a Santa Monica school at which the median-family income is about $34,000 for a family of four.
“It’s easier to raise a lot of money at a school when parents have a lot of money and connections,” said Carol Davis, a member of the school’s PTA. The speakers further stated it was an assumption that parents from the lower-income schools did not donate time and money. They said they do, but the amount they give could not compete with those at the wealthier schools.
The board members briefly discussed the item, as the meeting went well past midnight. Mike Jordan, the board’s only Malibu representative, said he was concerned how the proposal might affect corporate gifts.
“We need to think this through, to make sure there are no unintended consequences of this,” he said.
Jordan added that it should be looked at, as with the current formula, nearly 50 percent of the equity fund money would go toward three schools-Santa Monica High School and Santa Monica’s John Adams and Lincoln Middle Schools. Board President Jose Escarce said a closer examination shows this is not so outrageous, because the population of those schools comprises nearly 50 percent of the district.
Other board members gave vague support to the proposal, waiting until they can receive further information on some of the district population statistics. Only board member Oscar de la Torre gave full-fledged support to the plan, although he said it does not go far enough to combat the inequity in the district.
Malibu has roughly 20 percent of the SMMUSD student body, and receives roughly that amount from the district. The city of Santa Monica has given $5.2 million this year to the SMMUSD and Malibu has given $380,000. An organization called Community for Excellent Public Schools has requested that the city of Santa Monica set aside $6 million of its budget for the district. That amount would increase each year if the city’s revenues grow by at least 3.5 percent.
The board will discuss the item again at its next meeting in Malibu on Feb. 5. It could be several months before an actual vote is taken.
The proposal comes at a time when Malibu High School’s Shark Fund is nearing its first birthday. Since its inception in March 2003, the fund has raised more than $600,000, with $409,000 already having been invested in various projects at the school, including information technology support, office equipment, library materials, textbooks, scholarships and improvement of the College and Career Center. Substantial funds have been allotted to the Athletic Booster Club for Malibu High’s sports programs and to the Arts Angels for art supplies, music equipment and theatrical productions.
Wesley Walraven, who heads the Shark Fund, would not take a stance on Deasy’s policy proposal.
“The Shark Fund is strictly a fundraising group, and our board does not take a position either in opposition or endorsing any political issue of any type,” he said.
In light of the Shark Fund’s success, Santa Monica High School is initiating the Viking Fund, which aims to raise money for the high school using the same techniques employed by the Shark Fund.