temp12

There was a time, not long ago, when our School Board was a board of action. Years of budget cuts necessitated CCUSD acting decisively. decisive. The last such Board limited class size, tightened requirements for remaining a permit student and laid plans to finally spend dollars that sat unused for over 15 years while cutting costs and increasing test scores. Alas for those days.

Taking time off from knocking on doors, I gathered with family and friends yesterday to offer a neutral setting and lots of home- baked confections for interested people to meet and chat with me about their primary concerns regarding School District. Without surprise, the single looming issue for most was, is and remains the budget cuts — and in the same breath, Measure EE, the Parcel Tax, the proposed $96 a year tax to run for five years.

These past two years, the School District and our reconfigured School Board have faced painful financial times.

More painful than during the dot-com bust recession and post-9/11 when last the halls of Irving Place saw masses of citizens and District employees petitioning to save positions and programs.

The School District and the School Board were treated to a very respectful representation by Culver City voters on Tuesday night.

This is important because only about 12 percent of our registered voters turn out for School Board elections. And most of those are over the age of 50 with no kids in our schools.

Last Wednesday evening, the School District’s Community Budget Advisory Committee, known as CBAC, held our second meeting of the school year.

Without any galvanizing issues pressing our populace, the School Board meetings have returned to their historically sparse audience. However, these are the times when our administrators and the Board lay the foundations for the tremendous success our school district enjoys.

­ A few observations on last Thursday night’ special School Board meeting on School District enrollment.

­ The School District on Thursday night provided more data than heretofore has been presented at one time in one place regarding our current student population, the recent history regarding the decrease of native Culver City students and increase in permits granted to non-native Culver City children.

Comments from the articulate audience reflected a common theme of Good Schools, Good Students, too many students in the middle and high schools and a few bad apples disrupting it all.

In broad strokes, it appears the May revision to the proposed State budget will not cut as much from education as previously projected. But the State Legislature has yet to discuss, vote and adopt an actual budget. So we still have to wait and see.

The revised budget has reductions and no provision for a Cost Of Living Adjustment, COLA.

The Community Budget Advisory Committee to the Culver City Unified School Board met last evening for the third time this year to discuss and prioritize recommendations to the Board to achieve a $3.5 million reduction in School District expenses.

Over the course of weeks, recommendations have been put forth for consideration. Beginning with the remnants of the last round of cuts a few years ago, the District has searched internally and externally for ideas and suggestions. Virtually any idea was put forth for CBAC to discuss, and the members of CBAC (parents, site representatives, citizens, union and administration representatives) added their own suggestions.

The Culver City Democratic Club is playing partisan politics in the non-partisan School Board election.

Culver City is a rainbow of people, ideas, passions, backgrounds, age, height, weight and every grouping of people.

The Culver City Unified School District is a mirror of our community and serves all our children without regard to race, religion, national origin or political party affiliation.