By Bari Cohn
Staff Writer
The Manhattan Beach Unified School District Board of Trustees held a budget workshop on Wednesday to discuss the loss of donations for the Manhattan Beach Education Foundation and Mira Costa Parent Teacher Student Association this year compared to previous years.
MBEF and PTSA are two organizations that contribute money through donations to fund programs such as the College and Career counselors and the librarian or school supplies. If programs are to be cut, they will be based on how crucial they are to student safety and learning, MBUSD Executive Director of Educational Services Dr. Brett Geithman said.
“We don’t know to what extent the district will be able to take over some of these costs,” PTSA President Sandi Gleason said.
Executive Director of MBEF Farnaz Golshani Flechner said that fewer or smaller donations caused the lack of funding. In order to offset the lack of funding and sustain current programs in the district, MBEF asked donors to give $1,500 per student at the beginning of this school year in order to reach their goals of $5.1 million.
According to Gleason, Costa’s operating costs are approximately $240,000, but so far PTSA has raised only $190,000. The effects the lack of donations will have in the future are still unknown, but the budget plan will be finalized in June, MBUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews said.
“Costa [may have been] impacted the most,” Gleason said. “Everyone will feel a certain amount of negative impact.”
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