New School Board President A Nuts-and-Bolts Type Guy

By Teresa Rochester

Todd Hess' patience was wearing thin. For more than 45 minutes the newly-elected Board of Education President listened as his fellow board members went back and forth on the fate of a district-run child care center, their discussion sounding more like bickering than debate. Through it all, parents, some with toddlers, waited anxiously for an outcome.

"I made that motion 30 minutes ago," Hess said, urging board members to move the debate forward. "Can we vote?"

A former high school teacher turned movie studio president and father of three, Hess is a no-nonsense type of guy. His Santa Monica Studios office gives no clue he's in the movie business. The only nod to the industry is a framed American Film Market poster on a pink wall.

"I'm sort of the nuts and bolts guy," said Hess, who handles all the studio's financial and legal dealings, adding that he is not a movie buff.

In keeping with his style, Hess - who is the only Malibu resident on the board --began his school board presidency on Dec. 9 with nothing more than a slam of the gavel to call the meeting to order. No speeches. No introduction.

Hess, 53, takes the reins of the seven-member board as the school district begins to cope with a potential $5 million budget shortfall, which has already unleashed a torrent of pleas from parents and students to spare what the district considers "nonessential enrichment programs."

Hess is quick to point out that many of the district's money problems stem from lack of state and federal funding for programs mandated by governments in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. He points to the fact that the state of California ranks 42 in per student spending and that, while the federal government mandates special education, it has failed to follow through on its promise to foot 40 percent of a school district's special education bill.

"These cuts that we're going to have to do, it's not going to be fun," Hess said, sitting in his office at Santa Monica Studios on Olympic Blvd. in the city's industrial corridor. "Most of the economic problems we have are not local. The problem we have is the state. California doesn't support education. It's a travesty. It's an absolute travesty."

Along with budget cutting, Hess also wants to look at the board's relationship with the teachers union, which was strained during a long and contentious negotiation that required mediation before a 6 percent salary hike was agreed to.

"I'm very unhappy about the relationship between the board and the teachers," he said. "I think there was unnecessary tension between the two groups earlier this year, and I'd like to look at ways to improve that."

Hess - who along with his seven colleagues sat in on the negotiations - likes to deflect attention from his individual role. Instead, the former high school coach stresses the importance of teamwork.

"What people have to understand is a school board is a team, and it survives only if it functions as a team. It's not about me. There's only so much one person on a school board can do."

Hess' interest in education came long before he was elected to the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District's Board of Education in 1996. Thirty years ago, before he tried his hand at real estate or the movie business, Hess was a high school teacher in the Orange Unified School District, where he taught everything from U.S. and world history to physical education. He also coached football, volleyball, baseball and track for 10 years before moving into the private sector.

"I was only making $1,200 a month ten times a year," Hess said. "I started to talk like a teenager. I was in high school and I felt like I needed to go into the adult world."

Hess' move into the "adult world" came when he landed a job as a real estate broker for Orange County-based Valentine & Associates. Hess moved up through the ranks, eventually becoming owner and president before being named president of Santa Monica Studios in 1992.

During his stint as a real estate broker, Hess served on the Newport/Mesa Unified School District Board between 1979 and 1984, serving as president from 1983 to 1984.

While on the board, Hess and his wife, Lauren, had their second child, a son, Adam, who has Down syndrome and is autistic. Hess opted not to run for reelection so he could spend more time with his family. During his absence from school politics Hess became involved in a number of charities, including The Down Syndrome Congress, Volunteer High Hopes and Leadership Tomorrow.

Then, after 12 years away from a school board Hess was tapped to run for the Santa Monica/Malibu Board of Education by Malibu parents eager to retain a voice on the board after long-time board member Mary Kay Kamath stepped down.

In 1996, Hess was part of a three-member slate -- along with incumbent Margaret Quinones and Dorothy Chapman --backed by Santa Monicans for Renters' Rights, the city's powerful grassroots tenants group.

"I ran on my qualifications. That's how I got it," said Hess, who garnered 23 percent of the votes, finishing third in a field of four.

While Hess is the board's only Malibu resident - his 17-year-old daughter, Abigail, attends Malibu High School - he said the board as a whole has worked to ensure equality between the schools in both cities.

"The idea of the have/have not, it's not the reality, it's a perception," Hess said. "We have the city of Santa Monica that is doing a wonderful job in supporting the district, and Malibu, which is only nine-years old. Having the two cities together is a plus. The synergism all the way across the board is a plus. It's a win/win situation. The kids win. We try very hard to have some form of uniformity."

Given his work load, the school board member, father and studio head acknowledges he is not really a part of Santa Monica's "social scene."

"You don't see me around much," he said. "I can't attend a lot of the functions I would like to attend. It's about me managing my time and managing my resources."