The Weekly Newspaper of Inglewood
Daily News on a Weekly Basis - Herald Publications - Inglewood, Hawthorne, Lawndale, El Segundo, Torrance & Manhattan Beach Community Newspapers Since 1911 - Circulation 30,000 - Readership 60,000 (310) 322-1830 - September 21, 2017
LA Rams, Special Olympics
Team Up for Football Camp
On September 14, the Los Angeles Rams and Special Olympics Southern California hosted a FUNdamentals Football Camp and Punt, Pass and Kick Challenge. The event featured 70 Special Olympics athletes
and 15 coaches from Los Angeles, with a special appearance by Rams’ all-pro punter Johnny Hekker (facing the group in the photo). Photo by Will Navarro
Education Budget Will Be Hard to
Balance for Inglewood District
By Haleemon Anderson
Money matters occupied last week’s Inglewood
School Board meeting, as Chief Business Official
Eugenio Villa presented the members with a
revised budget that portends cuts and layoffs.
According to Villa’s calculations, Inglewood
Unified School District will run out of money by
2018-19 “[if] $9 million in ongoing reductions
are not achieved.”
In PowerPoint slides, Villa contrasted the
revised 2017-18 budget against the 2016-17
unaudited actuals and surmised that “the 2016-17
adopted budget, first interim and second interim
reports had understated the budget deficits for
both 2016-17 and subsequent years,”
Villa said budget “planning tools” had been
“optimistic or incorrect” in predicting the
looming deficit. Two factors complicate the
budget-- mandated pension costs and continued
declining enrollment. Since state funding is tied
to enrollment, the District’s money problems
will endure unless it can staunch the decline
in student numbers caused by charter schools
and other factors.
“We will go forward and address these
structural deficits,” said Villa. He assured the
group that the District is committed to investing
in “facilities and instructional programs,” and
keeping reductions “as far away from the
classroom as possible.”
To address the shortfall and “shore up” the
general fund for this year, Villa said he has
“reconciled thousands of accounts.” He also
instituted a “one-time budgetary measure,”
forgoing a $3.2 million contribution to the
Worker’s Compensation Fund. This emergency
measure was enacted in closing out the 2016-
17 books.
Villa said several measures are being taken
to start saving. There is a freeze on hiring and
overtime across all employee categories, he
said. Next, the District will look at departmental
budget cuts of up to 20 percent. “We expect
some improvement at the first interim report,
by December 15,” said Villa.
Still, moving forward, proposed remedies
are dire—school consolidations, reductions in
management, classified and certificated staff,
and concessions in employee compensation and
benefits are potentially on the chopping block.
Board Member D’Artagnan Scorza voiced
a course of action, stating, “We need to have
a strategic focus on revenue generation, i.e.,
increasing enrollment, since we can’t cut our
way out of this.”
Scorza asked Villa what number of students
would be needed to avoid layoffs. Villa estimated
an additional student enrollment of 900 would
infuse the District with the state funds needed
to balance the budget and mitigate other fiscal
concerns. The assumption within this equation
projects state funding at $10,000 per student,
for a total windfall of $9 million.
Board President Carliss McGhee expressed
concern with employees who don’t send their
school-aged children to Inglewood schools.
“What can we do to bring those students back?”
asked McGhee.
Scorza referenced the IUSD Educational
Foundation Board, saying, “I’m willing to
put foundation dollars into this effort to get
employee buy-in on recruitment.”
The District has enlisted the services of
Mariam Morris, a consultant on outreach and
parent engagement, who presented at the previous
meeting. “We want to re-brand ourselves,” she
has said. She is developing a strategy to “turn
around” the current enrollment “crisis” by the
2018-19 school year.
Morris, whose son attends elementary school
at Inglewood Unified, envisioned a multi-pronged
public relations campaign including community
events, focus groups and direct marketing. She
said most students leave the District between
fifth and sixth grade, or in the transition between
elementary and middle school. Heavy charter
saturation in the area also leads to turnover.
In public comments, recently-elected President
of the Inglewood Teachers Association Abu
Ngissah also spoke on the critical need to
enroll more students. She said the organization
is sponsoring a community outreach event on
October 26. “We have to go out and recruit,”
said Ngissah.
Resident Shawn Cook said he was a member
of the firm tasked with the District’s audit. “We
are building all over Inglewood, but not schools,”
said Cook. “Parents will come back,” when the
appearance of schools improves, said Cook.
Resident Patricia Villa Gomez requested the
Board look into compliance issues in the special
education department, asking for a review of the
director. “Please make sure the well-being of
our children is not compromised,” said Gomez.
Student Representatives to the Advisory
Council were present to give the Board an
update on the start of the school year. Kaiya
Farmer, a senior at City Honors College Prep
Academy, reported the schoolyear is off to a
great start, and credited a smooth transition to
several summer programs and workshops held
by the District. Farmer said she plans to attend
Howard University.
Larenee Gordon, a senior at Inglewood
Continuation High School, thanked Principal
Debbie Tate for her leadership at the alternative
high school. Gordon is a senior and said she
will pursue a career as a physician’s assistant.
The Inglewood Unified School District
Board meets once monthly. The next meeting
is scheduled for Wednesday, October 11, at
5:30 p.m. at 401 S. Inglewood Avenue, in the
Dr. Ernest Shaw Board Room. •
Certified & Licensed
Professionals.......................5
Classifieds............................3
Finance..................................2
Food.......................................5
Legals................................ 6-7
Looking Up...........................7
Pets........................................8
Police Reports.....................3
Seniors..................................2
Sports....................................4
Weekend
Forecast
Friday
Sunny
70˚/61˚
Saturday
Sunny
71˚/60˚
Sunday
Sunny
77˚/63˚