By Jonathan Friedman
Staff Writer
October 19, 2009 -- Two school district programs designed to help struggling students will receive financial support from the Equity Fund. The School Board Thursday voted 5 to 2 to use Equity Fund money for the programs.
The measure failed to garner enough votes for passage at a previous meeting due to a concern by some board members that only Santa Monica students use the programs.
All board members said they supported the programs -- Young Collegians, which assists potential first generation collegians, and Connect for Success, which helps rising ninth-graders who have struggled in middle school.
But the money being designated for them is supposed to go toward “district-wide programs.” And the opponents of this measure said these programs did not qualify.
Board member Maria Leon-Vazquez said these are district-wide programs because they help to “create more of an equal playing field.”
“We keep saying it [that the District wants to create an equal playing field],” Leon-Vazquez said. “But really when you look down on it, this is all we have. We only really have these two particular programs.”
The measure’s opponents favored using District General Fund money for the programs. Board President Ralph Mechur put up an alternative proposal to do this, but his request did not get enough support from the board for passage.
Board member Jose Escarce did not support using Equity Fund money for the programs, although he voted to do it because he did not want to be voting against the programs. He feared the board‘s action could “undermine support” for the Equity Fund.
“It actually goes against, I think, both the letter and spirit of our current policy, which I think we need to try to honor with as much integrity and consistency as I think we can,” Escarce said. “Because I think it’s important to the future of this policy moving forward.”
Board member Oscar de la Torre said those opposed to using Equity Fund money for the programs were using “fear” to guide them. Although he later in the meeting said these programs qualify as district-wide programs, de la Torre initially said he did not support the idea of district-wide programs as a tool for creating equity.
“I disagree with my colleagues who say we can achieve equity through district-wide initiatives … the whole premise of creating the Equity Fund was because there is more need at certain school sites,” de la Torre said. “So we want to concentrate those services where the need is greatest. I think using funds in this way was exactly what we intended.”
Created in 2004, the Equity Fund program requires 15 percent of all money from donations used by schools and the District as a whole be placed into the fund. Some kinds of donations are exempt. Most of the fund money is distributed to the various SMMUSD schools based on a formula to allow those with more struggling students to receive a larger share. A small percentage of the fund is supposed to be designated for District-wide programs.
