Thank You for Your Support

June 23, 2003

To the residents of Santa Monica and the Santa Monica City Council:

As Superintendent of our public schools, I want to express my heartfelt gratitude for the support you have given our schools in this time of crisis. Just two years ago no one could have anticipated that an unprecedented budget deficit in California would lead the state to cut school funding so deeply that it would threaten many of our most valued and effective programs.

You, the residents of Santa Monica, by voting overwhelmingly for Measure S, and the Santa Monica City Council, by increasing its contribution to the schools, have enabled us to avert a serious and possibly irreversible deterioration in the quality of the education we provide to our children. Your desire to reach into your own pockets to help our schools is admirable and humbling, and the message of hope and support you have sent our children will not be forgotten.

The additional revenues from Measure S and from City Council’s enhanced contribution will enable us to maintain class sizes of 20 students in 3rd grade, 22 students in 9th grade English and mathematics, and 30-35 students in other middle and high school courses; retain our elementary school music program and physical education teachers; retain our nurses and librarians; and restore a variety of other key supports for our students and teachers.

Can you imagine what our schools would have been like without the additional revenues? I did, and I was terribly saddened by what I saw.

You have reaffirmed my own personal decision to move my family to this community many times over. Ironically, this crisis has brought us closer to achieving one of my most ardent goals: building a deep and lasting relationship of reciprocal trust between our schools and the community they serve.

I am committed to continuing to build this relationship, and to creating a genuine partnership with you that will help us strengthen both our schools and our community in the months and years to come. As always, you have my unending support and commitment to our children!

On behalf of our students and employees, thank you!

Sincerely,