By Maysen Marolda
Staff Writer
Manhattan Beach Unified School District Deputy Superintendent Dr. Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard presented the budget report for the 2017-18 school year at the Feb. 1 board workshop to cover the district’s budgetary and financial status.
Murakawa-Leopard’s presentation included a multitude of topics, such as how much money MBUSD spends per pupil, the continuously declining census day enrollment, ongoing concerns and priorities within the district and areas where MBUSD has made significant progress in maintaining and restoring programs.
“The economy is constantly changing, and the educational needs of students are constantly evolving,” Murakawa-Leopard said. “As new developments occur, it is important for the District to make adjustments both in its short term and in its long term planning.”
Check out photos of Dr. Dawnalyn Murakawa-Leopard’s budget report here.
There is still significant work to be done within the district, according to Murakawa-Leopard. For example, more instructional materials, such as textbooks, are needed in the fields of science, social studies, secondary math, and visual and performing arts. All MBUSD schools are also in need of more maintenance and operations staffing, and basic supplies, such as pencils, which they hope to receive through donations.
“With a low budget and so many things to provide for, sometimes it becomes difficult to make sure everything is up to MBUSD standards,” Murakawa-Leopard said. “We want to provide the best to our students, so that is the most challenging part.”
Although there are many areas in which MBUSD needs to improve, it has made significant progress in maintaining and restoring programs, Murakawa-Leopard said at the meeting. For example, in the past year, MBUSD began the process of adopting and investing in updated instructional materials, such as textbooks, in the fields of language arts, math, STEM and world languages.
The district has also provided a salary increase of 21 percent to all employees over a course of several years. It has also supported educational programs including Science Technology Engineering Mathematics, Science Technology Engineering Arts Mathematics, Project Lead the Way, MakerSpace, music, Physical Education, libraries, and counseling, and eliminated furlough days.
“Programs such as MakerSpace provide students with structured educational experiences where they can use hands on learning to learn material,” Murakawa-Leopard said. “This allows them to think outside the box and apply skills they have learned in the classroom to solve problems.”
According to the report, California spends $10,566 per pupil, which is $2,012 less than the United States average. Furthermore, MBUSD spends $7,789 per pupil, which is $2,802 less than the California average, which negatively impacts the students, Murakawa-Leopard said.
“When the district receives less funding, less money is spent per pupil,” Murakawa-Leopard said. “Less money to put towards our students and schools negatively impacts them because that means less money we have to improve their educational experiences.”
The Unduplicated Pupil Percentage is the count of pupils who are English learners, meet income or categorical eligibility requirements for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program, or are foster youth, divided by the total enrollment in the district. At a UPP of 4.11 percent, Manhattan Beach has the second lowest UPP when compared to other local districts, and is ahead of the district with the lowest UPP, Hermosa Beach, by 0.33 percent.
“UPP is a factor that the district cannot control, so it is something that the district just has to accept,” Murakawa-Leopard said.
Also included in the report was the fact that since the 2013-14 school year, there has been a declining census day enrollment, according to Murakawa-Leopard. In 2013-14, 6,894 students enrolled in MBUSD, as opposed to the 6,747 students who enrolled in the district this year.
Murakawa-Leopard believes that this declining enrollment could be caused by nation wide lower birth rates, since there is a nationwide declining enrollment in schools.
“The declining enrollment negatively impacts the district because its funding is based on how many pupils are enrolled within the district,” Murakawa-Leopard said. “However, with fewer students, it means there is a fewer cost because there are less students to provide for.”
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