Board of Education explores possible changes to district donations policy

Sintra MartinsStaff Writer The Santa Monica-Malibu Board of Education met Thursday in Malibu to discuss a potential change from the current district fundraising policy to a new system that would make it so all donations go through the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation (SMMEF) and are later redistributed as needed.This new policy would, in effect, expand the idea behind the equity fund. The change being that all money raised by district schools would be pooled and redistributed.Originally created in 2004 by John Deasy, the equity fund pools 15 percent of all donations given to individual schools and puts it in a fund to be later redistributed. This money is then given to schools on a need by need basis.“The equity fund was a way for the district to create a fund that was 15 percent off the top of the PTA’s fundraising,” SMMUSD Superintendent, Sandra Lyon said.The equity fund was created to allow equal access to similar language, math and art programs regardless of the socioeconomic level of the school.According to the IRS form 990,  for the 2009-10 school year Roosevelt Elementary School raised $693,780 while McKinley Elementary School raised $41,812.Because there are significant fundraising differences between SMMUSD schools, a 15 percent tax is not enough to even the funding gap.The imbalance in fundraising capabilities has led to a recently suggested policy.“The Equity Fund essentially won’t be there anymore, it will be a centralized fundraising mechanism,” Lyon said.According to Lyon, this new system has not been implemented yet. When and if it is, all donations — this includes Parent Teacher Association (PTA) fundraising but not student fundraising — will be given to the Santa Monica-Malibu Education Foundation (SMMEF) to allocate as needs present themselves. This responsibility has been given to SMMEF because they frequently deal with donations.The Board has scheduled a meeting on Nov. 29 to determine whether or not to implement centralized fundraising. If it passes, all donations to Samo and other SMMUSD schools will be given directly to SMMEF, but judging by a recent board meeting in Malibu where many parents protested, this possible change does not seem to be popular.With the current equity fund, for a donation of $100, Samo will receive $85. With the centralized fundraising, for a $100 donation, there is no way to know how much of that money will come back to Samo.Without the direct donations, Samo and other SMMUSD schools will rely on the allocation of funding from SMMEF for all programs.“It’s hard to see what all the implications will be. It’s hard to say right now because it hasn’t really started,” Lyon said.According to Lyon, PTA fundraising has been used in the past to pay for staff development, but the money raised is only given to the schools that raise it. This becomes a problem in areas with low-income demographics. Historically, Malibu has a wealthier economy which reflects upon their fundraising skills. Santa Monica, however, can not achieve the same level of fundraising that would give them money to pay for staff and staff development that is equivalent to wealthier schools.“The centralized fundraising is so that the schools that have a hard time fundraising can have money. The issue is that each school can have personnel based on their ability to fundraise,” Lyon said. “Fundraised money that is used for staff or staff development will be raised centrally and then redistributed.”The full taxation of donations has sparked trouble with parents and donors. As voting day grows closer, the Board worries that parents won’t donate at all because the money that is given won’t necessarily go to the school they donate it to.smartins@thesamohi.com