SAVE THE DATE! -- January 30 & 31 State of Our Schools

SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

PRESS RELEASE

CONTACT:  Sarah Wahrenbrock                       FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

310.450.8338, ext. 70229                                   19 JAN 2012

SEVENTH ANNUAL STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS EVENT

SMMUSD Teams with PTA, CEPS, and Education Foundation to Present Informational Report

On January 30 and 31, SMMUSD will once again partner with the Santa Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs, Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS), and the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation for the Seventh Annual State of Our Schools, a community report on Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District student achievement, initiatives, and financial health.

The State of Our Schools event will take place in Malibu on Monday, January 30 from 6:30-9:00 pm at City Hall (23825 Stuart Ranch Road).  On Tuesday, January 31 from 6:30-9:00pm, the State of Our Schools event will take place in the Thelma Terry Building at Virginia Avenue Park in Santa Monica (2200 Virginia Ave.)

This year’s report will feature the very latest news and information in a comprehensive report from Superintendent Sandra Lyon about the ever-changing financial picture for SMMUSD in light of recent budget announcements from Sacramento.  Ms. Lyon’s State of Our Schools presentation will also provide a report on student achievement and District initiatives to help students succeed.

In addition, school Principals will report on innovative educational programs and initiatives that help students make successful transitions to their next grade level.  At the Malibu event on January 30, all Malibu Principals will present; Phil Cott from Webster, Rebecca Johnson from Point Dume Marine Science, Barry Yates from Joan Cabrillo, and Mark Kelly from Malibu High School.  At the Santa Monica event on January 31, Irene Gonzalez-Castillo from McKinley Elementary, Eva Mayoral from John Adams Middle School and Laurel Fretz from Santa Monica High School will make presentations. Ms. Judy Abdo will speak at both events about the SMMUSD preschool programs.  Each event will also feature musical entertainment from student performers.

These educational forums are free and open to all members of the public.  Spanish translation is available and light refreshments will be served.

“Please join us at one of the State of Our School events next week,” encouraged Sandra Lyon, SMMUSD Superintendent.  “Our Santa Monica-Malibu schools pride themselves on excellence and accomplishment – but the District is facing significant challenges.  As parents, community leaders, and concerned citizens, I hope you will take this opportunity to hear the very latest information about our schools; the challenges they face and some of the wonderful accomplishments our students make every day.  I look forward to seeing you at one of these events.”

“The State of Our Schools event has proven to be a meaningful and important way for parents to learn more about our District,” says Kelly McMahon Pye, President of the Santa Monica-Malibu Council of PTAs.  “This year’s program will be especially significant as Superintendent Lyon and members of her administrative team will discuss their plans for our District’s future.”

“In light of the strong and special relationship between our schools and our cities”, says Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) co-chair Shari Davis, “we feel more committed than ever to help facilitate clear user-friendly communication.  Our schools are very special places that impact families and residents across our cities.  This annual report is a unique opportunity to hear the latest about the successes and challenges of our excellent public schools.”

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SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT

1651 16^TH Street, Santa Monica, CA 90404

ph: 310.450.8338; fax: 310.581.1138

www.smmusd.org

Best Wishes for a Happy New Year from Community for Excellent Public Schools

With 2011 finished and 2012 starting to wake up, Community for Excellent Public Schools looks ahead to another critical year for public schools advocacy.

Local and statewide education advocates took a wild roller coaster ride in 2011, facing the prospect of deep cuts and 11th hour reprieves to education funding on a regular basis.  We saw headlines like State faces midyear cuts, more budget strife ahead, and Schools Had to Make Do With Less.  

Due to SMMUSD's excellent financial planning and critically needed local revenues, our local schools were able to weather State funding reductions this year and look poised to do the same in 2012 without significant cuts.  However, the future could not be more uncertain for public education, both locally and statewide.

For that reason CEPS knows that the elections in November 2012 could be among the most important in recent memory.  We have been working hard to put the structure in place to help inform voters about issues and candidates as they relate to public schools.

Early 2011 saw CEPS leadership providing input to Santa Monica City and Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District on the mechanics of implementing the recently passed City Propositions Y + YY.  These propositions, passed by 61% and 68% of Santa Monica voters on November 2, 2010, implemented a .5% transaction and use tax within Santa Monica and then indicated voters’ desire that half of the new revenues generated by Proposition Y be directed to local SMMUSD schools.  CEPS leadership had been very involved in the Yes on Y + YY campaign and were thrilled by its passage and subsequent implementation.

In June, CEPS welcomed back its former Chair Shari Davis as Co-chair.  Shari had taken a temporary leave from CEPS leadership to serve a distinguished term as President of the Santa Monica Malibu Council of PTAs.  CEPS was happy to loan Shari to PTA for a short time, and is even more pleased to welcome her back.

As the school year started, CEPS partnered with SMMUSD’s new Superintendent Sandra Lyon and PTA to plan the 7^th annual State of Our Schools event.  This year, new sponsoring partner, the Santa Monica Malibu Education Foundation joined the planning team.  The events will take place this month!  January 30^th in Malibu and January 31^st in Santa Monica.  Click here for details.

CEPS Co-chair Shari Davis addresses Santa Monica advocates
at the one-year birthday party for Propositions Y + YY

In November, CEPS celebrated the one-year anniversary of the passage of Propositions Y + YY in a wonderful event hosted by the Santa Monica Miramar.  The focus of this event was to celebrate and reinforce the importance of City-School partnerships, particularly as so many of the cultural and financial objectives of both institutions intersect.

CEPS has had a busy 2011 and expects an even busier 2012.  We thank you for your for your support and involvement, and hopes to see more of you in 2012 as we work together to preserve and protect our excellent local public school.

Please visit us at www.excellentpublicschools.org to become a member of CEPS and make a contribution to help keep Excellent Public Schools a priority in Santa Monica and Malibu.

Happy Holidays for SMMUSD?

Community for Excellent Public Schools wishes all of our friends and members very happy holidays.        And thanks to California's December 15th budget announcement along with SMMUSD's careful fiscal management, this holiday season appears less dire than had been anticipated for our local public schools.  (Take a look at Ashley Archibald's comprehensive article below.)

Schools tighten belts, but not too tight Cuts to K-12 less severe than anticipated By ASHLEY ARCHIBALD December 16, 2011 CITYWIDE — The scalpel of state budget cuts continues to slice away at school districts in Santa Monica, but prior planning will shield both K-12 and community college students from the worst, officials say. Gov. Jerry Brown announced in a press conference Tuesday that state coffers were short approximately $2.2 billion in anticipated revenues, triggering $102 million in cuts to the community college system and $79.6 million to primary and secondary education. "That's where we are today," Brown said. "Cuts to university, in home supportive services, schools and prosecution are not good. This is not the way we'd like to run California. But we have to live within our means." The cuts were built into the budget, and would only be "triggered" if approximately $4 billion in hoped-for revenue failed to appear. The triggers came in two tiers — higher education and other social services would be cut first, and, if less than half of the expected money came in, K-12 education would feel the knife. While higher education will feel the full brunt of the loss, K-12 will only lose $79.6 million of the $1.5 billion it faced, said Ana Matosantos, director of the state department of finance. The cut could equate to half of the transportation budget and approximately $13 dollars per student in state funding, said Jan Maez, the chief financial officer of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. That's fabulous, considering that it could have been 20 times that amount if the state hadn't realized any of its projected revenue. "Months ago, we heard it would be $181, and we thought that was good news," Maez said. "This is even better news." The district set aside money to cover potential losses in January, so students will not see any change in services this year, Maez said. Subsequent years, however, remain a mystery. Unlike K-12 education, the state college and community college systems and other social welfare programs were promised a $601 million reduction if the state fell short by $2 billion. Santa Monica College officials put aside $1.24 million from its $12.6 million reserves to help weather the cuts, said spokesman Bruce Smith. "We have a strong reserve, and thank goodness because with all of the cuts year after year after year, it's been difficult," Smith said. The newest round of reductions brings cuts in the 2011-12 school year to $502 million for the community college system alone, said Paige Marlatt Dorr, spokesperson for the California Community College Chancellor's Office. In an attempt to offset some of those losses, state officials imposed a $10 increase per unit on community college students earlier in the year. The newest triggers will mean another $10 increase, raising the per unit cost from $26 to $46. "That's a 77 percent increase in fees in less than a year," Marlatt Dorr said. "We serve some of the most vulnerable and needy students in the state. We are still the lowest, but for many of our students who are working two jobs, they're barely making it paycheck to paycheck." The new revenue won't appear until fall 2012, however, and some community colleges will still have to cut class offerings and, in some cases, personnel. That's not the situation at SMC because of careful money management and a higher population of out-of-state and international students that pay higher fees than California students, Smith said. "We have actually hired some new tenure track faculty," Smith said. "At the same time, don't get me wrong, this isn't good news." And the bad news could keep coming. In his speech, Brown promised another round of cuts if Californians vote down a tax measure meant to raise $7 billion, which will appear on the November 2012 ballot. "Trigger cuts are a process of fiscal discipline. Going forward, we'll have an opportunity in November to vote in the revenue, almost $7 billion, or not," Brown said. "If they do, taxes will be extended for the next few years. If they don't, we'll see even bigger cuts."

STATE OF OUR SCHOOLS! Save the Date

Shortening the School Year -- What, Again!?

At the very time when we should be looking to increase learning opportunities for our children, some in Sacramento are talking about the possibility of shortening the school year.  With our schools squarely in the crosshairs of potential further cuts to state-funded programs, cutting the number of schools days – always a big revenue saver for the state – is being seen as way to help fill a possible budget shortfall. While the politics around the proposal are not yet clear, Governor Brown signed legislation earlier this year that gave districts the option of shortening their school year to 168 days, should tax revenues fall short of the hoped-for level of $2 billion.

 

It would make our state 48^th out of the 50 states when it comes to the number of days children are given the chance to be in school, and it would put us even further behind the nations we’re trying to compete with globally, some of which have instructional calendars of 220 days.

Some districts in the state have already shortened their school year to the state minimum of 175 days.  To them, it’s hardly a choice at all, given the fiscal realities they confront.  And, if cutting school days is a choice that’s not really a choice, what’s emerging as the real decision in strapped districts is whether to choose quantity or quality. 

"As terrible as it might be, I would advocate for a shorter year with a quality school program rather than a longer year and a decimated program…" one district superintendent said in Sacramento recently.

Just this 2011 - 2012 school year, our local schools were able to restore five days to the district calendar that had been cut in each of the previous two years in response to severe State budget cuts.  Local educators and parents were thrilled to be able to return to a full 180 day school year.  However, shortly after school started in September, new discussions commenced that could result in additional days cut from future school calendars.

If education were truly the priority that it should be, this either-or situation would be recognized for what it is: forcing school districts into a false choice between giving children the time they need in school on one hand and affording them high-quality programs on the other.  Our children need and deserve both.

California State PTA supports this important school funding initiative

Legislative Alert November 30, 2011

..PTA-supported school funding
initiative launches..

To view a press release announcing today’s filing of the initiative, click here. Today in Sacramento, The Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act was submitted to the Attorney General for title and summary for the November 6, 2012 ballot. California State PTA supports this bold initiative, which will provide approximately $1,300 per student in new funds each year that must be spent directly at school sites with local parent and educator input. In particular, the funding must be used by schools to provide a well-rounded education that supports college and career readiness for every student, including a high-quality curriculum that includes the arts; music; physical education; science, technology, engineering and math (STEM); and vocational and technical education courses.  It can also be used for smaller class sizes, school libraries and librarians, school nurses and counselors. “The Our Children, Our Future Act focuses, first and foremost, on restoring essential education programs that have been cut,” said California State PTA President Carol Kocivar. “We have heard, loud and clear, from you, our members, that school budgets have been cut too deeply. We’re calling on everyone who cares about the future of our children and our state to get behind this vital measure.” The initiative will raise approximately $10 billion a year in new revenue through a sliding scale income tax increase that varies with taxpayers’ ability to pay, with the highest income earners contributing the most. Of the money raised, 85 percent will be allocated on a per-pupil basis to all local public schools, including charter schools, and 15 percent will be used to raise standards and expand access to public preschool and early childhood programs to help prepare children to succeed when they reach kindergarten.  The Governor and the Legislature are prohibited from using the money or directing how it may be spent. Several other ballot measure ideas are floating around for consideration in 2012, but PTA strongly supports The Our Children, Our Future Act because it will generate the substantial amount of new revenues that our students and schools desperately need. It also proposes important reforms that ensure transparency and accountability, as well as greater parent engagement, by ensuring parents at each school have a real say in how the funds will be spent.  The initiative also focuses on closing the achievement gap by providing additional per-student resources to support low-income children and English language learners, and greater access to early childhood education and preschool programs, which are proven to increase school readiness and help to close the gap. The Our Children, Our Future: Local Schools and Early Education Investment Act is sponsored by the Advancement Project, a national civil rights organization. It has the financial support of Molly Munger, founding co-director of the Advancement Project and a former federal prosecutor and business litigator who left her corporate life to become one of the state’s most passionate and effective advocates for communities and schools in need. California State PTA had a role in crafting the final ballot measure language, and we plan to actively engage in the broad, grass-roots effort to qualify and pass this measure. In the coming weeks we will continue providing information about this important initiative and how you can get involved to help.  More information, including the full text of the initiative, can be found at:www.OurChildrenOurFuture2012.com. To view a press release announcing today’s filing of the initiative, click here.

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SMMUSD Districtwide Fundraising vote tonight

Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District has been grappling with the issue of equitable private fundraising for local schools for years, and will likely continue to grapple with it for some time to come.  The issue of Districtwide Fundraising, the process of centralizing contributions to pay for specific services, in SMMUSD's case personnel and programs, comes to a head tonight at a special Board of Education meeting at 6pm, which has been moved to the auditorium at Lincoln Middle School, 1501 California Avenue.  Superintendent Sandra Lyon stated in a notification about the meeting sent out last week to parents and community members, "Please note that the meeting will be held at Lincoln Middle School, which is a larger venue than the district office, to accommodate members of the public who wish to observe and/or make public comments during the meeting".

The issue has attracted a lot of attention.  This Sunday it was featured in a Los Angeles Times editorial titled Public Schools, Private Donations.  The Santa Monica Daily Press has provided thoughtful coverage, include this recent article.  Frank Gruber offers his opinion in the Lookout News.  And the story even went national, going a little viral after first hitting Slate Magazine earlier this month.

On November 7th, Community for Excellent Public Schools' Steering Committee unanimously approved the following statement, "Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) supports the proposed revision of SMMUSD Board Policy 3290 concerning Acceptance of Gifts, with the added recommendation that the policy also include a well-defined Memorandum of Understanding between SMMUSD and the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation to address governance, accountability and transparency.

The CEPS Steering Committee discussed this issue thoroughly and voted unanimously to approve this position."

CEPS encourages anyone with an interest in our local schools to learn more about this issue, and to participate in the process.  Make your voice heard at tonight's board meeting.  You can see the Superintendent's presentation on Districtwide Fundraising or view the proposed policy on the district website.