School Mergers Spur Concern : Manhattan Beach Moves Cautiously on Proposal

The Manhattan Beach City School District, contending that more information is needed before sound decisions can be made on school unification, staked out a go-slow position on the issue at a public hearing Wednesday night.

Board President Kathy Campbell told about 150 parents in the Begg Education Center that the district will not be rushed into mergers with neighboring school districts, despite Redondo Beach’s decision last month to forge ahead and set up its own kindergarten-through-12th-grade system within that city’s boundaries.

Pending Legislation

The parents also were told by Supt. Douglas Keeler that pending legislation in Sacramento probably will take away the financial incentive for merging with the Hermosa Beach City School District. He said the legislation is part of Senate Bill 98, a measure based on the school financing initiative passed by California voters in November.

Hermosa Beach now receives $3,141 annually for each of its 715 students, compared to $2,876 the state provides for each of Manhattan Beach’s 2,200 elementary youngsters. Under current law, the higher funding level would become the base-revenue rate for the new, larger school district. A clause of SB 98 would blend the existing rates.

Both Manhattan Beach and Redondo Beach have eyed annexation with Hermosa Beach as a first step to a unified system with Hermosa Beach’s higher base revenue. Redondo Beach now receives $2,571 in state aid for each of its 3,870 students. South Bay Union High School receives $3,480.

Four districts serve the three beach cities: the elementary feeder systems in Manhattan Beach, Redondo Beach and Hermosa Beach, which send their graduates to the South Bay Union High School District.

Campbell and other Manhattan Beach trustees appealed for patience during what is expected to be a months-long process of getting what she called “accurate, reliable information on this very complex unification process.”

“We want to be very thorough,” Campbell said Thursday. “There is a lot that we just don’t know and we need that information before we can make decisions that are in the best interests of educating children.”

Representatives of the four districts will meet Monday to discuss hiring a consultant and other proposals.

The Redondo Beach board maintains that it already has enough information to proceed with unification and has declined to join in hiring and paying for a consultant.

Study Planned

Trustees in the other three districts have said they want the services of a consultant and hope that information compiled by experts may persuade Redondo Beach to reconsider its go-it-alone position. They have said they would oppose Redondo forming its own district if further studies show that such a move would harm the quality of education for their own students.

Most of the speakers at the Manhattan Beach hearing appeared to endorse the board’s go-slow approach to unification.

“We don’t have enough facts yet,” said parent Dave Schmidt of Manhattan Beach. “It’s all speculation until we have both sides of the equation.”

Bob Weiner, also of Manhattan Beach, agreed that the district should “keep all of its options open until we know more. One of the big questions is how these various options will affect the high school.”

‘Lot of Concern’

The high school district operates the Mira Costa campus in Manhattan Beach and Redondo Union in Redondo Beach. Each has about 1,550 students, but about 500 at Mira Costa live in Redondo Beach. Presumably, those 500 would be recalled to the campus in Redondo Beach if that city sets up its own unified school system for elementary and high school students.

“There is a lot of concern about what will happen to Mira Costa,” said parent Judy Spragg. “A smaller school may be better in some respects, but we need to know whether the overall quality can be maintained.”

If a consultant is hired, Ginger Wilson said, he should pay particular attention to how unification would affect school funding. “We’re already cut to the bone (in the elementary schools),” she said. “If unification can bring savings (through more efficient operations) and maintain the quality, then I think it’s a good idea.”

Several parents said a consolidation of all four districts may be best. However, that option may have been foreclosed by Redondo Beach’s decision to form its own unified district.