Editor:
In his October 23rd column “Becoming Santa Monica,” Miles Warner reported that in a meeting of first grade parents concerned about class size, “(s)omeone in the room suggested that maybe the board is trying to save money on teachers so they can buy the Civic Center.”
Mr. Warner was a candidate for school board in 2022 so he is presumably well-versed in SMMUSD finances. So it’s curious and surprising that he didn’t advise the parents — and his readers — that any money saved on operational expenses such as salaries doesn’t translate into extra funding for one time capital expenses such as purchasing the Civic Center (BTW, the City Council solicited buyers for the Civic, so let’s not make the school district a villain for responding).
Surely Mr. Warner is aware that SMMUSD has two pots of money, one of which can only be used for ongoing, annual operational expenses and the other of which is solely for one time capital expenses such as facility improvements, and never the twain shall meet. After all, he ran for office to be a fiduciary of taxpayer dollars.
So why is he conflating the two in his column and thereby sowing misinformation?
Ted Winterer
