Teachers Union President's Address to School Board

Good Evening and Happy New Year!

I'd like to begin my formal comments this evening by thanking the many members of SMMCTA and our CTA Staff, Cindy Ensworth for joining me at tonight's meeting.

We are not here tonight to blame neither you nor anyone individual in the district for the economic challenges we are faced with. Rather, we are here this evening to offer SMMCTA's initial recommendations for reducing expenditures and enhancing revenues in the district.

Clearly the state's current tax system is deeply flawed and if we are ever to eliminate the "boom or boost" cycle, the Governor and legislature will need to not only reduce spending and increase taxes, fundamental change in the tax structure is desperately needed.

It is simply incomprehensible and unjustifiable that a state, which has the 6th largest economy in the world, fails to fund its schools at the national average, despite the Prop 98 requirement that 40% of its budget be allocated for public education.

More over, it is the height of hypocrisy that the leadership in Sacramento and Washington shouts for more "ACCOUNTABILITY" in public schools and labels some teachers and schools as "FAILURES" yet these same elected officials fail to provide us with the resources, which are needed to provide all children with a quality public education.

Our recommendations are founded in the belief that at the center of all that we do is the service we provide to students. As such, reductions must take place as far away from students as possible. We stand united with our sisters and brothers in the classified ranks…the bus drivers, custodians and
others who are often the first adult to greet students as they begin their school day. Therefore, reductions must begin at the top of the organization. It is essential that during these challenging times, we must protect the most vulnerable in our organization.

More specifically, SMMCTA recommends the following Reductions:

1. Reduce the District Administration by a minimum of (10) positions. ( Estimated savings of $1 million)

2. Reduce Special Education Costs by 10%-15%. (Estimated Savings $1 million)

There are current success stories within the district in which students with "special needs" who were formally served in Non Public School Settings have returned to the district and are experiencing success at their HOME SCHOOLS.

Why is this happening and how can make this happen more frequently within the district?

We also believe that as a long-term goal, the district should explore the possibility of creating a state of the art Charter School for Special Ed students within SMMUSD. Perhaps we can provide a better alternative to the current NPS settings and do so at a lower cost. (Savings unknown at this time)

3. There must be a moratorium placed on all Special Service Contracts. In particular, the 5000 Account in your Budget often referred to as Other Operating Expenses. More than $7.4 million was budgeted for in this category for the 2002-03 school year. Work that can be completed by current employees must stay "in house". (Estimated Savings of $1million)

4. A freeze must be placed on any new expenditure.

5. Offer an early retirement incentive to all eligible employees this spring. (Savings unknown at this time)

In Addition to the above mentioned recommendations for reducing revenues, SMMCTA recommends the following options for enhancing revenues:

1) Place a New Parcel Tax on the Ballot this spring. SMMCTA will support and work for the passage of a new parcel tax to be placed before the voters this spring. Our local communities must help to offset the devastating state cuts.

2) Lobby both the City of SM and Malibu to increase their contributions to our public schools.

2) Reopen the long-term lease agreements with both Santa Monica College and the Doubletree Hotel. It's difficult to accept nor should we continue to allow both SM College and a major corporation to benefit from poorly written lease agreements, while the children and employees of the district are threatened with cutbacks.

All options need to be explored including: (1) the return of the Madison property to SMMUSD, (2) renegotiated agreements with increased money on the front end of extended leases or (3) one-time dollars from both the college and the Doubletree Hotel to assist us during these difficult times.

Finally, these are uncertain times and therefore, you must spend below the 3% Reserve Requirement. Currently the reserve is approximately $2.8 million. These dollars must be spent prior to any further reduction in programs or staff.

Thank you for listening. I look forward to leading SMMCTA in being part of the solution to these challenges.

Harry M. Keiley
President, Santa Monica Malibu Teachers Association