Responses of Mayor Richard Bloom

Signed CEPS "Excellent Public School Pledge"

1. What is the significance for our community of ensuring adequate funding for our school district, its programs, early childhood education and after school programs? Please elaborate.
   
   My wife and I have been district parents for the past 12 years and we are both, ourselves, products of public school educations. Our children attended Grant, JAMS and, now SAMOHI. I was a PTA vice president and a youth sports coach. In addition, I am a family law attorney with a significant focus on issues involving children.
   
   Access to quality education is a fundamental right of every child. It is an essential part of healthy families and of healthy democracies.
   
   In recent years, much has been learned about the early development of the brain and the need for young children to learn to socialize at an early age. Early childhood education is critical to this process.
   
   After school programs provide a wealth of benefits to children. These include: safe havens for children, structured activities that assist in development of intelligence and motor skills and cost effective care for children of single, poor and dual working parent families.
   
   I have always believed that it is the responsibility of our elected officials to work together to meet these needs in well-defined, creative ways. Since 1999, as a Santa Monica councilman, Mayor Pro Tem and Mayor, I am proud to have played a small role in advancing a broad agenda benefiting children.
   
   
2. What priority would you attach to ensuring adequate funding for our schools, after-school programs, and early childhood development in the city budget?
   
   For five successive budgets, since I was elected in 1999, I have identified education as our number one priority. Our current funding for a variety of youth related programming is nearly $18 million – making Santa Monica the envy of every community in the State of California. If re-elected, I aim to keep it that way.
   
   
3. Are you familiar with and do you fully support the agreement negotiated for the City to provide funding to the School District?
   
   I am intimately familiar with it. It was Councilmember Genser and I who began the effort that led to the agreement. I played a pivotal role in keeping the negotiations alive and in keeping the parties focused. As the education community is aware, it was a difficult and sometimes tense process. Thankfully, I was not alone in advancing this agenda.
   
   I consider the funding agreement to be the crowning achievement of my first five years as an elected official.
   
   
4. Do you fully support providing the maximum level of funding for our schools under City-School District agreement? Under what circumstances would you not be willing to do so?
   
   Absolutely.
   
   There are no circumstances under which I would not be willing to try, as I always have, to do everything in my power to advance the cause of public education and the needs of the youth of our community.
   
   
5. If the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District faced a budget crisis brought on by circumstances outside the District's control, such as by funding cuts from the State of California, would you be willing to support crisis funding to the District even beyond the City-School District funding agreement?
   
   First, I must point out that in every year since I was elected, the District has faced a budget crisis brought on by circumstances outside of its control. In every one of those years, I have supported crisis funding – well over $10,000,000 since I was elected.
   
   
   The new agreement that doubles ongoing city funding to $6 million assumes that the district’s shortfall will be ongoing.
   
   I will approach future years with an open mind that will weigh the needs of the district along with the considerable other needs of the community – including many other youth based initiatives. For example, I have, most recently, championed the need for an “active living” program, currently being developed by staff, to address the crisis of obesity that is leading to significant health care problems among the youth of our city and country.
   
   
6. Please provide specific examples of how you have supported the district and the education of our youth? How have you shown leadership to ensure adequate city funding for our schools? As a council member, what kind of leadership will you show to address school funding?
   
   I have supported every youth based initiative that has come before the city council. I work hard to maintain a good relationship and positive communication with the Superintendent, School Board Members and education advocates like CEPS. (Not to mention, gaining a daily understanding of issues from my own family’s experience.)
   
   One of my first acts, upon being elected in 1999, was to successfully advocate for increased funding to the school district. The result was an increase of $250,000 per year – the first increase in many years. I had a leading role on the recent historic increase. Since elected, we have renovated most of our parks and built an award winning aquatics facility. We formed the playground partnership. We are rebuilding and expanding Virginia Avenue Park, a new skate park. We renovated all our branch libraries and are building a new, world class main library. We are moving forward on airport park. I have advocated for the use of artificial turf that will vastly increase the amount of use that we get out of our soccer fields – a long term, critical need. We have moved forward on important initiatives for older youth and are actively working to curb the impact of violence in our community.
   
   I promise to continue to provide the same advocacy and leadership on behalf of the youth of our city.