School Board Establishes Committee to Study Gift Policy

By Juliet McShannon
Staff Writer

March 15 – The School Board last week established an ad hoc committee that will focus on the more sensitive areas of a controversial gift policy proposed by Superintendent John Deasy.

The committee will consist of a representative from every campus; a representative from the Santa Monica Malibu Education Foundation and from the financial oversight committee and two board members.

"The ad hoc committee would preferably hold its first meeting by the end of the month to assist the board in constructing the working details of the policy and administrative regulation," Deasy told the board Thursday night.

Board member Julia Brownley suggested that one or two board members be part of the ad hoc committee and both she and Board member Oscar Del Torre volunteered their services; a decision unanimously supported by the other board members.

The committee would also offer opinions on some of the policy points only when directed to by the board. Board member Michael Jordan stressed the importance of giving clear guidance to the Committee so as to discourage the "perpetuation of divisiveness" concerning the more controversial tenets of the policy.

Board President Jose Escarce agreed. "At the first meeting of the committee we need to say what are the parameters and constraints within which the committee needs to work," he said.

The Superintendent also presented the board with recommendations on how the equity fund could be implemented, including a collection and distribution mechanism and the administration of the policy.

The board vacillated in choosing between a "flat contribution" of 15 percent towards the equity fund and a "sliding scale" formula where the total amount given to the equity fund would fluctuate over the year depending on the amount of gift giving at the school during that period.

Deasy recommended the flat rate, saying it would be simpler and more predictable.

"It really is a case of simplicity versus complexity, and in my view most folks want a predictable measure, not an anticipated measure," the superintendent said.

Deasy found support from Board members Brownley, Escarce, Vice-President Emily Bloomfield and Maria Leon-Vazquez.

"The flat contribution of 15 percent is closest to our aim in addressing as much as possible the needs and wants in this district," Leon-Vazquez said.

Bloomfield asked whether non-cash donations should be counted into the formula.

"Should we consider whether such items should be donated to departments to make a determination where they are needed, rather than site-specific?" she asked.

The board agreed that this would be one issue best put before the ad hoc committee for further discussion.

Brownley also questioned whether the gift policy was explicit enough in assuring contributors that they could give 100 percent to the equity fund, rather than be affiliated to any particular school site.

"People I know are either categorically opposed to the fund or support it,” she said. “We should give options to individuals and/or school sites to give more to the equity fund -- a direct contribution to the fund if they want to.”

The board grappled in deciding whether, if adopted, the 15 percent "flat contribution" formula could also apply to state and federal monies received, as opposed to contributions from private donors.

Deasy agreed that direction from the board would be needed for private donations, but he advised that "in debating these questions, the board should always come back to the way of thinking in terms of giving to all kids in the district."

Brownley suggested that this too be an issue put before the ad hoc committee for further consideration "for fear that in making a decision now, we eliminate a decision we could make further down the road."

Jordan and Escarce felt that the board needed to be clearer in defining and distinguishing between “grants and gifts” and the implications of applying the 15 percent formula.

Escarce felt "uncomfortable" with the possibility of district grants being subject to the equity tax.

"Grants are given for purposes which already promote equity as a whole, and I suggest that in the first year of implementing the gift policy, at least, grants given to the district as a whole be exempt from the 15 percent," Escarce said.

The meeting concluded with the board affirming the creation of an ad hoc committee with no specific date decided upon.

Board members agreed that key points of the gift policy merited further discussion before the gift policy could be implemented.