By Kathryn Cross
Staff Writer
Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews, Assistant Superintendent Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard and Executive Director of Educational Services Dr. Brett Geithman presented recommendations for allocating the 2015-16 budget at the Feb. 11 budget workshop.
MBUSD is still deciding how it will allocate the funds granted from the state. However, MBUSD does not currently know how much exactly the state will be granting.
“We are making educated guesses about the final state budget and predicting how to plan the budget from there,” Matthews said.
According to Matthews, teachers have requested that the district add additional positions in physical education and music. Matthews and Murakawa-Leopard estimated an additional elementary P.E. teacher would cost approximately $90,000. MBUSD staff has proposed positions for an additional Visual and Performing Arts Program coordinator and an instrumental music instructional assistant. Staff also suggested a music teacher for the Visual and Performing Arts pull-out program, a program where students are pulled out of an academic class for music. It was predicted these positions together will cost $245,000.
“MBUSD made music mandatory for all elementary school students,” Costa orchestra director Peter Park said. “It’s common sense that the teachers be doubled to compensate for the increase in students.”
See ‘Budget workshop’ on page A3Murakawa-Leopard, Matthews, and Geithman also presented changing Manhattan Beach Education Foundation policies. According to Matthews, MBEF would like to move $600,000 of funding towards improving math instruction and providing support for district professional development efforts and elementary school counselors.
“We are looking at a lot of requests for potential revenues,” Matthews said.
This $600,000 of budgetary funding is an $84,000 increase from, the current budget for professional development, professional development from University of California Los Angeles for math instruction and counselor funds.
“All of the recommendations are important, but it is clear that one of my top priorities is professional development for the staff,” Geithman said.
The final 2015-16 budget for all MBUSD funding will be adopted in June. According to Matthews, it will be discussed several more times before its adoption.
“Nothing is finalized,” Matthews said. “But, the current budget is in good shape.”
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