By Jonathan Friedman
Lookout Staff

June 21, 2010 --The Board of Education on Friday night approved the budget for the 2010-11 fiscal year, which includes $106 million in spending from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s (SMMUSD) General Fund. The budget needs to be approved prior to the end of June because State law requires this, but it is a fluid document that could see several changes.

Since most of the District’s revenue comes from Sacramento and it could be several months before the State budget is finalized, the SMMUSD must make its financial decisions on a best-guess scenario, using the latest information that is available. Other variables factor into the budget.

“This budget can change as soon as your first board meeting in July,” said Jan Maez, the District’s chief financial officer. “So I don’t want anybody to think that we’ll be stuck with these numbers for the entire year.”

Among the items that remain in limbo is the District’s preschool program. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed significant reductions to child development services.

The SMMUSD’s budget includes $7.1 million worth of cuts. This includes layoffs of teachers and other staff as well as reductions in several programs. (See full list.) The District is in the midst of a fundraising effort to bring back some of those employees who were let go. Money must be raised by Aug. 15 for it to go toward the 2010-11 school year. (See article: Board of Education Fundraising.html , June 8, 2010)

The law requires the District to project its budget three years out. These projections show even more difficult times could be ahead. To create balanced budgets for 2011-12 and 2012-13, District officials have included an assumption for $5 million in additional revenue. If that money is not received, more cuts will have to be made.

“Next year is only the beginning unless we can really realize new sources of revenues that are substantial,” Board member Jose Escarce said.

A committee recently reconvened to look at why the recent parcel tax measure, which would have generated an estimated $5.7 million annually, failed and whether it is feasible for a new measure to be presented to the voters as soon as November. Also, the Financial Oversight Committee has presented revenue enhancement ideas.

The board heard from some speakers who shared various opinions about the budget cuts for the upcoming year. Council member Robert Holbrook, who served on the board in the 1980s, asked that no reductions be made to the elementary music program. Five teaching positions were eliminated. District staff had proposed the entire program be removed. Holbrook said when he was on the board, the music program was kept intact when significant cuts were made because it was determined music was “the keystone of our District.”

“We can’t afford to cut back the music program,” Holbrook said. “It is the program that made our District famous. All over California and the United States, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is known and envied for its wonderful music program.”

Several board members responded that they agreed the music program is important. They said they hoped it could be brought back to full strength through the fundraising effort. Escarce said current circumstances made it impossible not to make any cuts to it.

“It just seemed untenable to leave one program intact when we were devastating so many other programs,” Escarce said.

Also at the meeting, the board voted 6-0 (Kelly Pye was not in attendance) for an economic boycott of Arizona due to its passage of an illegal immigration enforcement law that some people say will lead to racial profiling and another law that prohibits “ethnic studies” programs in K-12 education. The SMMUSD joins Santa Monica College and the City of Santa Monica in boycotting the neighboring state.

"This budget can change as soon as your first board meeting in July," "So I don't want anybody to think that we'll be stuck with these numbers for the entire year."
     Jan Maez, District's chief financial officer

“Next year is only the beginning unless we can really realize new sources of revenues that are substantial,”
     Jose Escarce, Board member

“We can’t afford to cut back the music program,” “It is the program that made our District famous.
     Robert Holbrook,  Council member