Santa Monica : State to Repay District for Integration Plan

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District will receive $229,983 from the state as repayment for the cost of maintaining a voluntary desegregation program during the 1983-84 school year.

The money is included in legislation, authored by state Assemblyman John Vasconcellos (D-Santa Clara) and recently signed by the governor, which reimburses several school districts for desegregation costs.

According to Santa Monica-Malibu district spokeswoman Janice Walker, it costs the district about $250,000 a year to run a voluntary transfer program to achieve racial balance, provide multicultural education materials and operate a magnet school. “We are extremely pleased” to receive the reimbursement, she said.

Walker said this is the first year the district has received state funds to cover the cost of its voluntary desegregation program, which was adopted in 1980.

The legislation also provides for partial repayment of future costs. From now on, districts with voluntary desegregation will be entitled to reimbursement equal to 80% of their costs in the 1984-85 school year, Walker said. The repayment will be increased annually with cost-of-living adjustments.

Other districts with claims covered by the bill include Long Beach Unified School District ($5.2 million), Pasadena Unified School District ($1.4 million) and ABC Unified School District ($144,954).