Tuesday, August 9, 2011

CEPS In the News

Please share your thoughts about public education in the CEPS Survey

PHOTOS BY DAVID HUME KENNERLY, COURTESY OF CEPS

From the statewide event, "Caravan for Kids" in 2005. Created by then-CEPS Executive Board members Rochelle Fanali and Denny Zane and organized by CEPS Steering Committee members, the two-day rally was organized by CEP in partnership with California State PTA, to provide training and facilitation for parent and student groups throughout California.

NEWS, SANTA MONICA, SCHOOL, EDUCATION, SANTA MONICA-MALIBU SCHOOL DISTRICT (SMMUSD)

Local School Advocates Celebrate Years of Work

POSTED AUG. 8, 2011, 7:37:00 AM

HANNAH HEINEMAN / MIRROR CONTRIBUTOR

The Community For Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) has become a key player in K-12 public education in both Santa Monica and Malibu.

Although the roots for the organization were laid in early 1999, the group started meeting regularly in 2001 to discuss and strategize about assisting the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District with communication and seeking revenue sources. CEPS officially became a non-profit volunteer political action committee in 2003 when its members helped the school district solve the financial crisis it was facing at that time.

Some of their goals include promoting a shared community vision for excellence in local public schools, evaluating and pursuing a range of short- and long-term funding measures through state, City, and school district policies and elections, identifying and supporting issues that would support education and public schools, and promoting accountability for high quality public education by public institutions and public officials.

“CEPS has been able to cultivate a culture in our community that makes education a priority in the whole community,” noted Shari Davis, CEPS co-chair. “We are so proud that we have been able to advocate successfully for funding for our school district that now totals $24 million per year from local sources.”

Some of these local sources are a parcel tax with a cost of living adjustment and the Master Facilities Use Agreement between the school district and the city of Santa Monica that began in the 2004 – 2005 academic year. Most recently, CEPS helped with the campaign for Propositions Y and YY that were approved by voters in November 2010. Proposition Y was a half cent City of Santa Monica transaction and use tax and Proposition YY was a companion measure that advises that half the funds generated by Proposition Y can be given to the school district. The school board approved the terms of the agreement in June 2011.

“The proposal of putting Y and YY on the ballot shows how far we’ve come,” Davis pointed out.

Another milestone, according to Davis, was the CEPS participation in the 2005 Caravan for Kids, which included eight press conferences in California’s major media markets and a 2,000-person rally for “Making California Great Again” on the steps of the State Capitol.

“The Caravan for Kids was a real moment for us to do statewide advocacy and partner with the California State PTA,” explained Davis.

Yet another achievement for CEPS was the initiation of the State of Our Schools event in 2006, which was created and organized by CEPS to highlight the achievements of both Santa Monica High School and Malibu High School with presentations in both cities.

In honor of its 10-year anniversary, CEPS is asking community leaders, education advocates, and residents in Santa Monica and Malibu to express their thoughts and concerns about public education through a survey posted on their blog at excellentpublicschools.blogspot.com

Please share your thoughts about public education in the CEPS Survey

Sunday, July 10, 2011

Take the CEPS Survey

Please share your thoughts about public education in the CEPS Survey

Dear Public Education Supporter,

At the end of this very tumultuous school year, Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS) would like to thank you for working with us to keep the protection of public education a top community priority. In addition, we would like to share some important news with you.

California’s historic on-time State Budget passage in June left the future of public education funding filled with uncertainty. With deep cuts to early childhood and post-secondary education, this budget funded K-12 public schools at the same level as the 2010 – 2011 school year, but ONLY IF $4 billion of revenue increases materialize. If not, pre-set “triggers” will be activated, potentially prompting mid-year cuts to public education of up to $1.9 billion statewide, leaving SMMUSD with about $3,600,000 less in State funding for 2011-2012. As a result, SMMUSD would be forced to dig deeply into its reserves, leaving the outlook for the 2012-13 school year bleak once more.

As we look back over the last year and beyond, we realize how far we’ve come since our inception over a decade ago. Education advocates have worked hard to inform voters about our excellent public schools and to help shine a light on the critical inadequacy of State funding for education.

A SAMPLING OF CEPS' EFFORTS:

In partnership with a broad coalition of community members, CEPS helped pass City of Santa Monica Propositions Y + YY in November 2010, and actively monitored the process by which the City of Santa Monica worked with SMMUSD to craft the new joint use agreement that provides the transfer of revenues to the School District. CEPS Steering Committee Members Shari Davis and Tom Larmore co-chaired the Yes on Y + YY campaign committee, with many more CEPS members working on the committee to pass the measure.

Result: $5.7 million per year will be generated for our local schools ($1 million already designated for 2010-11 school year)

CEPS helped pass Measure R in February 2008.

Result: $11 million per year generated for our local schools, with senior homeowners exempted

CEPS has worked with civic leaders to reinforce the value of maintaining high quality schools and to build toward renewal of the Master Facilities Use Agreement initiated by CEPS in 2004.

Result: $8 million per year generated with

renewal expected in 2012.

In addition, this school year, CEPS actively participated in the 2010 candidate elections, holding candidate forums and community outreach efforts that informed voters about candidates’ views and record on education issues. CEPS also partnered with SMMUSD to inform the public about the District’s accomplishments and challenges in the fourth annual “State of Our Schools” Event.

We are proud to announce the return of Shari Davis as Co-Chair of CEPS. She returns to lead CEPS after an extremely successful and productive two-year term as President of Santa Monica Malibu Council of PTAs.

With the State of California stuck in a daunting and seemingly endless budget crisis, there is no question that education funding is at risk and will remain so for the foreseeable future.

The only true certainty in California’s very unstable public education picture is that our advocacy is needed now more than ever. CEPS is committed to continuing our work at the local and state levels.

To help us focus our advocacy on issues that matter most to you, please take a moment to let us know your thoughts! PLEASE COMPLETE THIS BRIEF SURVEY. It will take five minutes or less and will give us important feedback that will help us set our priorities for the coming year.

Finally, if you haven’t already done so, please renew your membership and consider making an additional financial contribution to CEPS. Your support makes it possible for Community for Excellent Public Schools to continue its critical advocacy in support of Santa Monica and Malibu’s local public schools.

Thank you for making education a priority in your life and striving toward Excellent Public Schools for all children!

Sincerely,

Shari Davis & Rebecca Soladay Kennerly

Co-Chairs, Community for Excellent Public Schools

Keep up on local education issues on the CEPS blog

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Tuesday, April 19, 2011

No Budget, No Election, No Future for California's Schools

Join Teachers, Parents and Students for a

Friday the 13th Rally for a Real Solution

Thursday, March 31, 2011

California's Budget News Hit Hard Locally

Santa Monica' incredible resource, the Lifelong Learning Community, has helped inform us about events and issues that impact everyone in our community for many years. SMLLC is written and edited by the incredible Louise Jaffe, Member of the Santa Monica College Board of Trustees and former CEPS co-Chair, who has graciously allowed this repost.

Lifelong Learning Community News - APRIL 2011

For months now, I’ve been writing, or avoiding writing, about the state budget and related local consequences. Yesterday, Governor Brown announced that negotiations with Republican legislators to hold a special June election have collapsed. This means there will be no opportunity for voters to consider extending existing taxes in a June election.

Democrats in the Legislature have already approved $12.4 billion in cuts. These include deep cuts to preschool and childcare, and reductions in health and human services that will impact people with disabilities, mental health needs, the blind, seniors, low income families, community organizations, providers and workers who provide supports and services. On top of these cuts, the UC and CSU systems lose $1 billion and the community college system loses $290 million - - this translates into course sections cut and less or no access for students pursuing a college education. Community college student fees will rise from $26 to $36 per unit.

These cuts are staggering and will absolutely impact Californians, especially children, older adults, those who are disabled, the poor, and college students. Yet this is just the beginning. Another $12 billion in cuts now haunts all plans for the immediate future...

Governor Brown and Democratic legislators are now on their own to try to figure out how to increase revenues to avoid an all-cuts scenario. We the voters, for the moment at least, are largely sitting on the sidelines, waiting to see what comes down and what we can vote on. Those of us responsible for running or governing state-funded agencies – this includes the school board, the college board (I am a trustee at SMC), many non-profits (most non-profits that serve the elderly, the disabled, and the poor rely heavily on state funding) are caught in the middle, trying to make plans for various terrible but as yet not fully known contingencies. It is really a mess and really not good news for lifelong learning in California.

Last week, SMC President/Superintendent Chui Tsang held a town hall forum on the budget. You can read about how the budget crisis is impacting SMC at http://surfsantamonica.com/ssm_site/the_lookout/news/News-2011/March-2011/03_30_2011_Lean_Times_Ahead_for_SMC_President_Tsang_Warns.html

The city of Santa Monica is more protected from state cuts and more fiscally independent than the school district and the college district. However, Santa Monica has a robust redevelopment agency with hundreds of millions of dollars worth of future projects on the line. As of this writing, redevelopment has not been eliminated and Santa Monica has moved to protect some funding such as that for the new Virginia Avenue Park library. To read about the City’s efforts to protect redevelopment funds, please go to
http://www.smdp.com/Articles-c-2011-03-14-71477.113116-City-secures-loan-to-fund-redevelopment-projects.html

Anyhow, please follow the state budget situation. It absolutely impacts us and our local primary education institutions and social service agencies.

I retain a smidgeon of hopefulness because after a recent parcel tax for our schools failed to pass, (I’ve already forgotten the letter), Santa Monicans voted in Y and YY. The lesson I take from this is that there is always another opportunity to move forward, as long as we remain diligent and ready to seize the day!

Thursday, November 4, 2010

Thoughts about Election Results and the future of Santa Monica Malibu Schools

Whew! What a ride. I’ve been trying to recover with little success, but here goes...

Tuesday night Propositions Y + YY sailed to victory under the skillful leadership of campaign chairs Shari Davis and Tom Larmore along with guidance by stupendous campaign consultant Barbara Grover! When the numbers came it, the sheer size of the victory seemed inevitable, but for those of you who were in the trenches, I’m sure you shared with me a sense of dread. I never knew whether these measures would pass and even now can’t believe they have!

Now, our work as Community for Excellent Public Schools continues. As the organization that originated of the measure that became the current Joint Use Agreement, and stalwart proponents of school/city partnerships, the actual process of allocation of these funds and a renegotiation of the current Joint Use agreement must be very high on our list of priorities. Continued vigilance from CEPS and the education community around the schools/city partnership must remain firmly in our sights.

Tuesday held so many important races for our community, our schools and our state. In the national sea of red, it was a rare great night to be a Californian.

Welcome to our two new SMMUSD Board of Education members, our own CEPS Steering Committee member, Nimish Patel and Laurie Lieberman! Both are tremendous leaders and will bring valuable new insight to the Board. While we are sad to see Barry Snell and Kelly Pye exit the Board of Education, we hope and expect to see them at the CEPS table even more in the months and years to come! And of course, congratulations to re-elected incumbents Oscar de la Torre and Ralph Mechur! We hope to continue seeing you around the table as well.

Congratulations to re-elected City Council members Gleam Davis, Terry O’Day, Pam O’Connor, and Kevin McKeown. All are stalwart education supporters and we look forward to working with you for many years to come!

And the race for the final four-year Santa Monica City Council seat remains too close to call. Both CEPS Steering Committee member, Ted Winterer and Bob Holbrook were endorsed by CEPS and would be terrific on the Council. Too bad there aren’t enough seats for both! Like Ted and Bob, I will hold my breath until the results are final. However it turns out, though, CEPS is excited about the prospects of working with both Ted and Bob on education and city issues — on the Council, around the CEPS table and in the community.

I don’t know if all of you are as tired as I am. Most of you have a reason to be even more tired than I. However, I couldn’t be more excited about the future with Y + YY in place and incredible leadership to help put those increased revenues to the most effective use to benefit our schools and our city.
With much great work done — and much left to do, I applaud you all!

Rebecca Soladay Kennerly
Community for Excellent Public Schools (CEPS), Chair
www.excellentpublicschools.org
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Propositions Y + YY PASS!

Education and city boosters cheered the news, Tuesday night, that a
tax to bring badly needed funds to local schools and for vital city services won a
landslide of voter support and will go into effect April 1st.

The tax, Proposition Y, will add a half percent to the existing sales tax. Under a
companion measure, Proposition YY, half of the estimated $12 million generated
annually will go to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified Schools and the other half to vital city
services.

Voters passed Proposition “Y” by a margin of 61 percent to 39 percent. “YY” won 68% of the ballots cast.

“This is a win for our students and for our community,” said Tom Larmore co-chair of the
Proposition Y+YY campaign. “Everyone in Santa Monica benefits from great schools
and safe neighborhoods. They make Santa Monica one of the most desirable places to
live in the state and in the nation.”

“This is a recognition of what an amazing community we live in here in Santa Monica,”
said Shari Davis, co-chair of the Proposition Y+YY campaign and president of the Santa
Monica-Malibu PTA Council. "We have a unique partnership between SMMUSD, City
Hall and our businesses that reflects the values of our residents."

“Prop Y gives residents another important reason to support local merchants – buy local,
support our schools and our city,” Larmore added.

At a half-cent per dollar, proponents said that Proposition Y will cost residents about the
same as one latte a month and that half of all Proposition Y revenues will be paid by
visitors and other non-residents who shop in Santa Monica.

Rent, groceries, gas, prescriptions, medical care or equipment, any purchases made
with food stamps, utilities, and all services are exempt from sales tax and thus
Proposition Y.

The propositions were supported by a broad and historic coalition from throughout the
community, including: renters, homeowners, neighborhood groups, small business
owners, the Santa Monica-Malibu Teachers Association, the Santa Monica Police
Officers Association, the Santa Monica Firefighters Association, the PTA, Santa
Monicans for Renters' Rights, Santa Monica College and the League of Women Voters
of Santa Monica.