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Malibu Schools Leave Santa Monica’s Far Behind in Fundraising By Jorge Casuso Jan. 12 – Malibu schools far outpace their Santa Monica counterparts when it comes to fundraising, with schools receiving an average of $724 per student in donations and in-kind gifts, compared to $192 per student at Santa Monica schools, according to an analysis of district statistics by The Lookout. In fact two of Malibu’s four schools ranked at the top of the list of 16 district schools when it came to per student giving, with Point Dume Elementary bringing in $1,377 per student and Webster Elementry $1,172 between September 2002 and November 2003. At the bottom of the list were the three Santa Monica schools that raised less than $100 per student -- SAMOHI, which brought in $33 per student, Olympic High with $50 and John Adams Middle School with $67 per student. While accounting for only 2,415 of the district’s 12,838 students, Malibu’s four schools raised $1.75 million in direct and in-kind support through donations and fundraising, compared to $2 million raised by Santa Monica’s 12 schools. The money – raised in large part by the school PTAs – helps supplement the approximately $5,000 per student the district receives from the State each school year. “The State provides no flexibility on how we use the money,” said School Superintendent John Deasy. “At the end of the day, the school district does everything equitably.” The wide discrepancy in fundraising between the district schools has prompted Deasy to propose a controversial gift policy that would put 15 percent of all donations to individual schools into an Equity Fund to be distributed to all district schools. Expected to be taken up by the School Board later this month, the policy has been publicly opposed by Malibu parents who warn that it will discourage giving, violates PTA bylaws and is likely illegal. But Deasy contends that it is a question of equity and civil rights. “One must be compelled to ask everyone to be concerned about the culture of learning at some schools,” Deasy said. “All kids end up in middle school and high school. Should we be worried about that? I think we should.” Not all Santa Monica Schools faired poorly in raising money. Roosevelt Elementary on the city’s affluent north side raised $900 per student, making it the only Santa Monica school among the district’s five top fundraisers. Although PTA fundraising accounted for $417,740 of the $632,142 raised at Roosevelt, the balance came from banks and philanthropic groups. The Joseph Drown Foundation gave $120,000 and First Federal Bank, which adopted the school years ago, donated $70,000. In addition, the California Community Foundation gave $18,500, Washington
Mutual Bank donated $3,402 and the Brotman Foundation gave $2,500. Four Santa Monica schools raised less that $210 per student -- John Muir Elementary (with $209 per student) McKinley Elementary ($184 per student), SMASH Alternative School ($164) and Lincoln Middle School ($134). But perhaps the biggest discrepancy in fundraising can be seen in the district’s high schools, with Malibu High, which has only 1,308 students, raising $515,000, compared with $113,186 raised at SAMOHI, which claims 3,429 students. While SAMOHI relied on 22 individuals and corporations for the lion’s share of its money, Malibu High supplemented the $275,000 raised by the PTA with funds raised by three school-based groups. And the money keeps coming in. As of January, Malibu High was well on its way to raising $1 million, having reaped more than $750,000 in donations. RELATED STORIES: "District Gift Policy Stirs Controversy," Dec. 4, 2003 Malibu Parents Face off over Gift Policy, Dec. 10, 2003 WHAT I SAY: Harmonics and Disharmonics, Points and Counterpoints, Dec. 15.
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