Santa Monica : School Budget Approved

The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board approved a tight $49.8-million budget for the coming school year, which includes a $1.5-million grant from the city of Santa Monica.

The budget provides for $705,000 more in spending than in the 1989-90 year.

A nurse, a lifeguard, a grounds maintenance person and skilled maintenance employees and custodial supervisors were among the positions eliminated under the new budget, which was unanimously adopted Monday. The pool at Malibu Park School will be closed unless the county, which runs recreational programs at the pool, takes on the costs of operating it, said Arthur Cohen, assistant superintendent of fiscal services. The Lincoln Middle School swimming pool will be open for community use but not for classes.

Allocations for legal expenses, conferences and for trucks and other non-school equipment were also slashed.

The budget is tight because of limited state funding, district administrators said. Expected revenues to the unrestricted general fund include about $29.6 million from the state and $1.5 million from the lottery.

The district, which had been facing a projected deficit of up to $2 million in the 1990-91 school year, last month appealed to the city of Santa Monica for help. The city and the school district are working on a plan for the city’s continuing support of the school district, said Supt. Eugene Tucker.

Employee salaries and benefits account for about $38 million, or 85% of the general fund expenses. However, since that figure does not cover any cost of living increases the district is obliged to provide, “we’re still going to have some significant cuts to make during the summer,” said board member Connie Jenkins.

Each percentage point of salary increase to the district’s employees costs $238,000, Cohen said. The district has about 500 teachers, nurses, librarians and counselors and about 500 other, classified employees.