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Schools

Donations Prevent Pink Slips for Local Teachers

The Manhattan Beach Education Foundation pledged an estimated $4 million donation for the 2011-2012 school year.

With budget crises and layoffs occurring all over the county, the Manhattan Beach Unified School District board of trustees proudly announced zero layoffs for the 2011-2012 school year at its meeting Wednesday.

The announcement came thanks to a $4.1 million donation from the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation.

Cheers and tears of joy resulted as Nina Patel, MBEF vice president of fundraising said that more than 28,000 donors contributed to the donation.

“We want to thank the school board for making necessary cuts the last few years, but always keeping our students as a first priority,” said Patel.  “This kind of leadership is what provides the foundation for members of our community to find a common cause to contribute to.”

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Other revenue increases for the 2011-2012 budget include funds from the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act totaling an estimated $280,000, according to agenda notes.   

“We’re developing a culture of giving and supporting our amazing schools.  I am so thrilled and you can see the results in our budget planning as we move forward,” said district superintendent Michael Matthews.  “We are all thankful that these contributions will leave a sense of stability for us while Los Angeles Unified School District announced 5,000 layoffs this week.”

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The California Court of Appeal has accepted the case between MBUSD and The Los Angeles Department of Mental Health regarding funding for federal law AB-3632.  The decision to transfer responsibility from the county to the districts to fund mental health services for disabled students as of October 8, 2010 gave the district little time to fund the expensive program with minimal mental health staff employed by the district, according to agenda notes.

A Memorandum of Understanding was filed between the district and the county and is awaiting approval, which will alleviate the $600,000 burden for the upcoming school year.

In hopes of a fair and balanced representation of parents and coaches for the Mira Costa High School Athletic Facilities Master Plan Committee, the board re-approved the amended application, including 16 voting members.  Twenty-five applicants applied and will be notified.

“It’s important to have as many coaches involved because it reinforces the Mira Costa Team,” said board member Amy Howorth.  “They have to understand the importance of each other’s sport and be represented equally.  So rather than just having a coach from one team and several parents there will be more respect for each other’s needs.” 

In an effort to go green, the board conducted its first paperless meeting with a fully interactive online agenda available through the MBUSD official website. 

“It gives the public the opportunity to see more,” Matthews said.  “The interactive agenda gives you the ability to add comments and it allows us to be more transparent.  It was a lot easier than I thought it would be for our first meeting.”

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