By Andrea Banda
Assistant Opinions Editor
The composition of faces that craft and develop the educational policy of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is set to change Nov. 5.
With the retirement of members Pam Brady and Thomas Pratt, as well as the end of terms for two other board members, President Julia Brownley and Brenda Gottfried, four positions are available on the Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education.
Four new candidates and two incumbents are running for the open positions. President Brownley and member Gottfried face candidates Emily Bloomfield, Ann Cochran, Oscar de la Torre and Shane McLoud on the ballot.
In addition to the residents of Santa Monica and Malibu, the school board election also concerns the Pepperdine community. Pepperdine faculty and staff whose children attend schools within the district will be directly affected by the policies created by the new board.
Hung Le, director of administrative services at Onestop, has two children that attend Webster Elementary and two that have yet to begin school. As a parent, Le said he believes it is crucial for parents and the community to participate in such an election.
“Any change in the school board will have an affect on the many children who live in the Pepperdine community,” Le said. “Children spend so much time in school and I want to have some say in what happens to them there.”
As well as faculty and staff, Pepperdine students are also involved in a number of activities within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The Seaver Teacher Education Department has approximately 150 students each year that earn teaching credentials. This semester the majority of those students are observing and student teaching at schools within the Santa Monica-Malibu District. According to professor of education Betty Glass, this semester Seaver students are giving 2,470 hours in observation, participation and teaching to the Santa Monica-Malibu District.
Abby Rust, a spring 2002 graduate of Seaver College performed her student-teaching observation at Pacific Palisades. Now a student teacher in Thousand Oaks, Rust said that parents need to be aware of the upcoming school board election and its importance. “Parents need to be voters to choose the people who will be making the choices that affect the education of their children,” Rust said.
Approximately 25 Pepperdine students who participate in the America Reads and America Counts programs are also involved within the Santa Monica-Malibu district. Senior Kristina Schneider tutored in the America Reads/Counts Program and said that during the time she witnessed how children perform in the school system and how they are affected by School Board policy.
“The school board helps to determine small factors which make the difference in education, like class size and encouraging the level of parent involvement,” she said.
A significant factor of education that the Santa Monica-Malibu District faces during this election is budget concerns. According to Board Member Brady, this is one of the biggest issues the Santa Monica-Malibu District has tackled in her 12 years as a board member.
The district is not alone. Every other district in California is experiencing urgent budget problems. The state of the economy, along with the energy crisis, has affected the money available for education. The 1999-2000 Census ranks California in the bottom half of states in per pupil funding. More recently the Santa Monica-Malibu District reported that California has moved to the bottom 25 percent and that it expects the budget problems will worsen this year because of budget cuts.
The budget cuts, which will begin to affect schools in January, will remove some school programs that are not absolutely necessary to maintain a functioning school. In order to maintain the quality of education that the Santa Monica-Malibu District has developed, the school board has created a possible solution to combat these problems.
Their solution is Measure EE. According to school board and district officials, Measure EE will provide for an annual $300 tax on each residential, commercial and industrial parcel, a separately assessed lot or piece of real property, in the district. This measure is expected to gain more than $9 million in additional funding for Santa Monica and Malibu schools to use over the next 12 years.
Brady said that in California there are not a lot of options to raise outside funds for education. The three options available are bonds, parcel taxes and grants. Bonds are used to generate revenue for facility construction, while parcel taxes raise money to be used for programs and development. Brady said that the district has obtained grants in the past, but needed to look for a way to generate funds within the community.
Many Malibu residents are weary of the parcel tax that would increase homeowner taxes by $25 a month and would add $3-$4 a month to the cost of rent. Parent and faculty member Le said that he and his wife have always voted yes to similar measures, but is currently unsure of what the impact will be on other members of the community. “With the way the economy is right now, we may have to learn to do more with less,” he said. “Is it fair to ask other people to give if they are not able?”
In order to take effect, the measure must pass with a two-thirds majority. If the measure does not pass, the district expects to see possible losses of class reduction programs, art and music programs, campus security and teacher aides.
“This measure desperately needs to pass, it would be a disaster otherwise,” Webster Elementary Principal Philip Cott said. “We will either have to face terrible cuts or will be able to maintain and improve great programs.”
In addition to the participation of educators, board members and parents within the district, several community organizations are also heavily involved in this election. Santa Monicans for Renters Rights and the Democratic Clubs of Santa Monica and Malibu have promoted education and endorsed candidates for the School Board positions.
Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, SMRR, has expressed their commitment and concern for public education since before the late 1940s.
“We believe that a well-educated public is better able to participate in a democracy and to keep society functioning well,” Co-Chair Patricia Hoffman said.
The candidates that SMRR has endorsed in the past have been known within the community to win the elections. Hoffman said that the reason for their candidates’ success is that the organization only endorses candidates who have a true commitment for public education and schools within the district. This year they are endorsing Emily Bloomfield, Julia Brownley and Oscar de la Torre.
In addition to SMRR, the Santa Monica Democratic Club has been involved in the district school board election for more than 15 years. The club participates in the School Board election because members say they believe that education is significant to community and the future of democracy. Julie Lopez-Dad, the SMDC president, said that members of the Santa Monica community look to the Democratic Club to help make decisions during elections.
“With primarily a democratic population in the district, voters use our endorsements to choose whom they will vote for,” she said. During this year’s election the club endorses Emily Bloomfield and Julia Brownley.
Ralph Erickson, president of the Malibu Democratic Club, could not be reached for comment.
October 31, 2002