At a meeting during which the Santa Monica-Malibu school district is expected to name an interim superintendent, the local Board of Education will discuss the potential impact of a city tax on school funding.
As the district prepares for Sandra Lyon’s departure June 30, it is also considering how a possible transaction and use tax could help if passed by voters in the November elections.
According to an SMMUSD memo, the proposed measure would be similar to Measure Y and Measure YY, which were approved about six years ago.
“While the impetus for this measure is to generate additional local funds that can be used to support affordable housing,” the memo reads, “the City is also aware that the school district also has a number of needs for which there is no source of funding, since state funding is woefully inadequate when compared with much of the nation.”
A district committee has been convened to discuss the feasibility of such a measure, according to the memo.
New purchase orders
How much is the closure of the achievement gap worth to the Santa Monica-Malibu school district?
As officials work towards eliminating the disparities in academic success that persist between minority students and their peers, education reformist Pedro Noguera and his team have offered analysis, guidance and recommendations.
Noguera’s consultancy is due for a payment of more than $91,000, a centerpiece of the list of purchase orders slated for board approval Wednesday.
Noguera, a renowned scholar and researcher in the field of educational sociology, met last week with the school board to discuss goals and obstacles. The special session came about a month after his presentation to the board and community members at Santa Monica High School about the district’s need for a culture change to tackle the achievement gap.
The bulk of the $2-million list of purchase orders — a $1.5-million payment to the firm Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman for legal fees — will be postponed for consideration to the June 29 board meeting, according to SMMUSD spokeswoman Gail Pinsker.
The list also includes more than $56,000 to Apple for iPads and assistive technology; $50,000 to Fagen Friedman & Fulfrost LLP for legal fees; more than $47,000 to Heinemann for literacy coach materials; more than $31,000 to Cambium Learning Inc. for curriculum services; more than $30,000 to Intelli-Tech for student Chromebooks; more than $29,000 to Santa Ana-based KYA Services for turf repair at Roosevelt Elementary School; more than $13,000 to KI for office furniture; about $13,000 to MorphoTrust USA for a fingerprint machine; and more than $12,000 to Chevron for fuel.
Budget talks
The school board is planning to discuss the budget for 2016-17 as it prepares for the upcoming school year.
Although the figures are preliminary in nature, they help board members assess the district’s overall fiscal position.
Roughly $4.4 million is budgeted for ongoing maintenance, which represents 3 percent of the general fund budget. That amount is indicative of the facility projects being completed across the district in part with the help of voter-approved bond measures.
Revenue from the district’s leases with the DoubleTree hotel and three other properties will generate about $2.4 million, according to an SMMUSD report.
Approximately $4.3 million has been budgeted to support the Local Control and Accountability Plan that will be approved by the board. The board on Wednesday is expected to host a public hearing regarding the plan, the centerpiece of a recently implemented funding formula that gives the district more responsibility in handling state money.
The state-driven Local Control Funding Formula will make up 62 percent of projected revenue in 2016-17, according to district data. Employee salaries and benefits make up about 86 percent of expenditures.
The budget assumes a district enrollment of 11,003.
