Donations to schools spur local debate

Dr. Sandra Smyser Because California ranks 45th out of 50 in state funding for public education, it’s imperative that our schools receive support from local businesses, Sandra Smyser told members of the Agoura/Oak Park/Conejo Valley Chamber of Commerce at a breakfast gathering last week.

Smyser is the new superintendent of the Las Virgenes Unified School District.

So far, the business community has risen to the challenge, Smyser said.

“This community has filled in the gap,” she said. “We appreciate it on so many levels.”

For Alex Soteras, Chamber first vice president, the discussion reopened the debate about whether the city of Agoura Hills contributes a fair share of financial support to the school district.

“The Chamber has always supported the schools with fundraisers, internships and scholarships for students, as well as honoring the outstanding eachers every year,” said Soteras after the meeting. “I only wish the city of Agoura Hills would follow he city of Calabasas and help with funding.”

The debate over which city is doing more for its schools— Agoura Hills or Calabasas—has been brewing in the community for months.

According to officials, both cities are helping the financially beleaguered school district, but in different ways. While Calabasas donates to a special school endowment fund, Agoura Hills donates to the school district a portion of the property tax growth it receives through the city’s Redevelopment Agency (RDA).

Over the past four years, the city of Calabasas has given more than $1.3 million to Calabasas schools through its education fund and direct donations for specific projects.The Agoura Hills donations have totalled more than $1.2 million.

Dissent over donations

Soteras remains miffed that Agoura Hills City Councilmember John Edelston was defeated in his recent effort to allocate a $100,000 city budget item for the Las Virgenes Education Foundation, the grassroots organization that formed in early 2003 and raised nearly $1 million after the state of California announced drastic education cuts.

The foundation also was instrumental in helping to pass Measure E, the $98-per-year parcel tax that prevented larger class sizes and spared a variety of programs.

Although Councilmember Denis Weber supported Edelston’s plan, Mayor Corridori and Councilmembers Jeff Reinhardt and Dan Kuperberg wanted either the foundation or the school district to present a detailed proposal prior to funds being budgeted, even though the council would have to approve the proposal before the money was distributed.

“This was a way for Agoura to show that they were willing to support education and place a line item on their budget which could be used if the foundation came forward with a proposal that was acceptable to the city,” said Red Godfrey, foundation president, who was upset that the funds were turned down.

“If the foundation did not come forward with a plan which was acceptable to the council, (the city) still had the money to allocate elsewhere,” Godfrey said.

Corridori said Agoura Hills has focused instead on giving the schools money through RDA, which “passes through” increased property taxes within the RDA zone.

“Pass-throughs are negotiated funding mechanisms required by state law, but we are not required to have an RDA,” Corridori said.

The agency money increases each year, he said. Next year, the school district will receive over $200,000, with increases expected in each subsequent year. Over a 10-year period, the city will have contributed more than $1.4 million to the school district in RDA passthroughs alone, Corridori said.

Redevelopment money is just one method Agoura Hills uses to help the school district. Last year the city spent about $195,000 on school related projects, although critics say a portion of the money could be perceived as being earmarked for typical city improvements and law enforcement needs.

Agoura Hills, for example, uses a home mortgage assistance program to help school employees. In 2005, no-interest loans of about $300,000 were provided to school district employees to purchase homes within school boundaries.

“The mortgage assistance program is a better example of how the city includes the interests of the school district, whenever it can, as it attempts to meet its own obligations or state mandates,” Corridori said.

But according to critics, the money doesn’t directly benefit the classroom.

Greg Ramirez, Agoura Hills city manager, argues differently.

The Lost Hills Sheriff’s Juvenile Intervention Team, which provides drug awareness programs to local schools, was recently appropriated $90,000 in city funds, Ramirez said. Another $60,000 was allocated for school crossing guards and nearly $38,000 for the STAR Success Through Awareness and Resistance) program.

The city grants smaller sums

for specific projects, which last year included funds for the Agoura High School music program and Grad Night, and $5,000 for the Every 15 Minutes teen driving awareness program.

In the 2003-2004 school year, city officials entered into a five year, facilities-sharing agreement with LVUSD and gave the district a $50,000 grant in exchange.

Agoura Hills has also provided financial support for many school improvements, including $56,000 for the baseball field at Willow Elementary School, $15,000 for a new sidewalk, $10,000 for a new gymnasium floor and $45,000 for tennis court lighting at Agoura High School.

Fair and equal

Since LVUSD is a “unified” school district, the funds that are donated must be divided equitably.

Furthermore, said Corridori, “we cannot legally simply give money to the school district. Under the law, we must have a specific purpose or specific benefit to the city for the funds before we can appropriate them. The council agreed that our staff should work with the district staff to identify a specific purpose that would allow us to provide additional funding.”

Calabasas generates enough taxpayer revenue to endow the city’s education fund, but the money has restrictions—it must be spent on Calabasas schools only.

Gary Lysik, the city’s chief financial officer, said the city has been able to give $1.3 million over the past four years—more than $250,000 annually—to the Calabasas schools and not others because the funds come from Calabasas taxpayers.

The money has helped pay the salaries of a counselor, a librarian and an assistant principal. School district officials said they were able to justify using the money for Calabasas schools only because had the district received full funding from the state, the money would have been used for the personnel anyway.

The Calabasas Education Fund will continue its $250,000-a-year donation through the 2006-2007 school year, Lysik said.

Much of the estimated $1.2 million that Agoura Hills donated over the past four years was distributed district-wide, officials said.

Ability to pay

Corridori pointed out that the ability to supplement school funds varies dramatically from city to city. He said Calabasas has nearly double the per capita revenue as Agoura Hills, even though the two cities are roughly the same size. Westlake Village has two-and-ahalf times the revenue per citizen, Corridori said.

“This is not about the income level of the residents, but the income level of the public agency,” Corridori said. “There are also major discrepancies in municipal needs. We have a $24 million interchange to fix, a need not shared by either of our neighboring cities. A $100,000 line item in the budget is far more serious to us than it is to Calabasas. It would be irresponsible of us to try to match grant giving with our neighbors.”

The Las Virgenes Education Foundation said it wants to develop a more broad-based coalition among the cities within the LVUSD boundaries, including Agoura Hills, Calabasas, Hidden Hills and Westlake Village.

Smyser hopes the local cities will continue to support their schools. “It’s a cliché that it takes a community to raise a child.” But, Smyser said, “It’s true.”