School Board Won't Join College Bond Campaign

By Susan Reines

July 26 -- Although it left the door open for future partnerships, the School Board last week decided not to sign on to a proposed Santa Monica College bond measure that would expand open space and community facilities through collaborative projects between public agencies.

All four school board members present at the special meeting Thursday expressed full support for the idea of partnerships with the college, but they worried that the district did not yet have a list of needs and that embarking on a $175 million bond measure could dampen support for future funding.

With no time to assess the district's priorities before the November election, the board ruled unanimously to keep partnerships in mind but not join the college's campaign, which could include the Cities of Santa Monica and Malibu.

"I hope that this concept of partnership doesn't fall apart,” said Board member Oscar de la Torre. “It seems like it's fragile right now.”

"The concept is good, and I don't think any of us is debating that," said Board Member Maria Leon-Vazquez, who is running for re-election in November.

Leon-Vazquez, however, pointed out that the board just completed a difficult budget process and strained negotiations with the teachers' union and should proceed carefully with any financial commitments.

"In this partnership, it's not like the bond is going to pay for everything on our behalf," she said.

The $175 million bond would fund projects that fulfill the needs of the college and the other agencies, such as a child development lab that would provide childcare for district parents and learning experience for the college's child development
students.

Board members worried about entering a partnership before the district embarks on a new "facilities assessment" to prioritize its needs, which will likely take place this fall.

"It just seems like it's hard for us to enter into a partnership on unequal terms because we haven't had time to study what our needs are," de la Torre said.

Board member Julia Brownley said the fall assessment could reveal needs that would have no relevance to the college, and the board may have difficulty obtaining bonds to fund those solo projects if it joined the college bond measure this fall.

"The biggest concern that I have now is really protecting, to the degree that we can protect, the school district's ability to go out for a bond," she said.

On the other hand, Board member Shane McCloud said the public might tire of seeing bonds on the ballot. Collaboration, he said, might be the agencies' best shot for getting funding.

"I do see the limit to our solo adventures," he said. "We're going to be limited in the future, I think, if we continue to go at this alone."

De la Torre noted that the City will likely ask voters to approve an increase in the transient occupancy tax, or hotel bed tax, in November, and if that measure fails but the college bond passes, relations between public agencies could sour.

The college's Director of Marketing, Don Girard, said the opportunity for partnerships would last until the time "when the money is spent," so the door will be open for ten years or so.

Although the college board has not yet decided whether to endorse the bond, college officials have been lobbying the Cities of Santa Monica and Malibu and the school board to join the college in placing the bond measure on November's ballot.

On Tuesday, the City Council will decide whether to follow City Manager Susan McCarthy's recommendation to develop a partnership agreement with the college and fully support the bond.

The City of Malibu has not announced formal endorsement but its city attorney has been meeting with college officials.

The college board will vote on August 2 to determine whether the bond will go to the ballot. Several members of the board expressed concerns about rushing to ask voters for a $175 million bond just two years they approved a $160 million bond.