College Proposal: The Official Correspondence

Letter from Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser to SMC Board of Trustees Chair Dorothy Ehrhart-Morrison

April 24, 2000

Dorothy Ehrhart-Morrison
Chair
Santa Monica College Board of Trustees
1900 Pico Boulevard
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Dear Dorothy:

I was disappointed to learn that the College has chosen to use the cloak of pending litigation over the past several months to conduct business regarding relations with the City of Santa Monica. The City Council and staff have had the courtesy of direct communication from College officials only within the past few days. We understand now that you contemplate "persuading" the City to dedicate a significant ongoing amount of General Fund and Redevelopment monies to the College's expansion plans.

I presume that your actions are not motivated by a desperate financial situation as no reports of such a circumstance have been conveyed to the City or the press. Given the great interest this community has in public agency budget decisions, any closed-door discussions regarding the College's financial problems and potential requests for City assistance would have benefited from public participation, as required by the Brown Act and valued by the residents of Santa Monica.

You have been seriously misled by your advisors in regard to legal arguments and the City's finances. I encourage you and your colleagues to abandon attempts to assert a formulaic right to municipal funds. The merits of individual funding initiatives you may contemplate are most appropriately considered by the City Council within the context of competing community needs and the principles of sound financial management. That is the very process that the City Council follows annually in formulating and adopting the budget.

As a fellow elected official I respect the difficult job that your Board members perform. I believe that all of you would prefer to take a straightforward and principled approach to your relations with the City of Santa Monica and trust that these recent events are a non-recurring aberration.

Sincerely,

Ken Genser
Mayor

cc: Board of Trustees
     City Council

Response from SMC Board of Trustees Chair Dorothy Ehrhart-Morrison to Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser

April 28, 2000

Mayor Ken Genser:

This will acknowledge receipt of your letter dated April 24, 2000.

One of the central roles that educational institutions play in our society is to advance public policy discussions. Because education is an important priority among the constituents that we both serve, our staff is requesting that we begin broad public discussion concerning the priority education plays in our community. These conversations should not be confined to either of our respective chambers, but should involve robust debate and discussion among our residents.

We welcome your participation in this public dialogue.

Sincerely,

Dorothy Ehrhart-Morrison
Chair, Board of Trustees

cc: Santa Monica College Board of Trustees
     Santa Monica City Council

Letter from Santa Monica Mayor Ken Genser to Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education Chair Todd Hess

April 24, 2000

Todd Hess
Chair
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District
Board of Education
1651 16th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90405

Dear Todd:

I am writing to you as an elected official who has scrupulously observed the important distinctions in responsibility between your Board and the City Council. As you know, the City of Santa Monica has, over a period of years, committed a total of $2.5M in ongoing support to district operations and provides an additional $2.8M annually in school-based services. I have strongly advocated that funds be provided with no strings because the Board, not the City Council, is responsible for the often difficult decisions regarding fund allocation.

This letter is occasioned by the City's concern that the District may be attracted to a current effort to deny the City Council the ability to allocate funds to meet pressing community needs. Those involved in developing this plan have not consulted with the City, and appear to be basing it on inaccurate assumptions about the city's financial resources. While this group has the luxury of focusing on the needs of education alone, the City Council must balance the often competing but real needs of our community as a whole.

Your Board members recognize how difficult the pressures of principled public service can be. I urge you to discourage seemingly simple solutions to the District's problems that could place other community interests in jeopardy. I would be happy to discuss this with you or other Board Members at greater length.

Sincerely,

Ken Genser
Mayor