County Bureaucrats Ding SMMUSD To The Tune Of $8,861.301.26
Written by 991KBU on March 5, 2019
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District has taken a nearly 9 million dollar hit in state funding.
That’s because the LA County Office Of Education has ruled that the district is no longer entitled to money from the California budget … because its property tax revenues are so large.
The Santa Monica Daily Press reports the school district suddenly found out that it is no longer eligible for state funding … when the county withdrew nearly 8 point 6 million dollars from its bank accounts halfway thru the academic year last year.
The district became a so-called basic aid district in the middle of the 2017- 2018 school year.
But it had budgeted for the year based on not becoming basic aid until the summer.
The district was not aware that would happen and had already budgeted the $8.86 million,
Melody Canady, the school district’s Assistant Superintendent … said the county not only failed to warn the school district of the change … but it had approved the annual budget that included spending the money.
The county last year $8,861.301.26 from SMMUSD’s general fund without notifying the district.
The district is already running at a deficit … and while it had planned on getting less money from the state … the withdrawal was a surprise.
The matter goes before the school board for discussion Thursday.
This story was reported by the Santa Monica Daily Press and we have a link to their edition on the KBUU Newswire: http://backissues.smdp.com/030519.pdf
