Kids May Attend Alternate Session Schools With Half-Sized Classes Next August: Drati
Written by 991KBU on May 27, 2020
Public schools in Malibu may reopen in August with fewer kids in each classroom at any given time.
The Santa Monica Malibu School superintendent sent out a letter to parents this morning … envisioning just what Will happen on August 20 when schools go back into session for the fall semester.
Ben Drati says he believes kids will be allowed on campus with physical distancing required.
Kids would still be sent home to use their computers for off-site learning for part of the day.
Superintendent envisions a flexible approach.
Kids would have alternating schedules … where a group of students would stay home and another group are in school on any given school day.
For some kids there might be a half day schedule … like double session except with very few kids in the classroom at any given time.
No matter what variation is implemented in the classroom … driving says the School district is making plans for a large number of students were expected to be kept home by their parents this fall.
Says the superintendent … “we understand there may be families who do not want students to return to campus for a variety of personal reasons.
… “And we would create a program to address these concerns to support these families and continuity of education.
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The real cuts are about to be made in local schools
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District 2020-2021 preliminary budget is expected to be presented by staff next week on Thursday, June 4, but Superintendent Ben Drati said last week that the district is out of wiggle room in regards to its fiscal reserves.
The Santa Monica Daily Press has the story.
Bottom line … the school district has a budget imbalance of about 5.6 million dollars right now.
The district is currently spending about $11 million more than the revenue it brings in. As a result, the district is currently projected to have an ending fund balance of negative $5.6 million dollars in the 2021-2022 fiscal year.
The Santa Moncia Daily Press reported that Drati addressed complaints … about spending at the district headquarters.
“So many people have asked why we are not keeping cuts as far away from the classroom as possible and they say we haven’t considered cuts to the central office services,” but this couldn’t be further from the truth, Drati told the newspaper.
The district has made approximately $2.3 million worth of cuts to central office services and contracts in the last two years.
The district’s huge budget problems may explode … if Sacramento cuts during next Thursday’s board of education meeting.
The board look at the budget next Thursday.
It is scheduled to take final action and adopt the final 2020-21 budget on June 24. This story is based on reporting in the Santa Monica Daily Press.
