Generating Revenue Ourselves

Before asking the voters or City Hall for more money, the board must show the professionalism and commitment to develop a plan for the district to generate revenue on its own.

Starting with the recommendations of the district’s Financial Oversight Committee, as a board member I will immediately work to:

·  Hire a Director of Development so we can begin to attract the    outside funds available through interested community members,    corporations, and large institutions that provide grants to    education. Development directors raise the money to pay their    own expenses, and more. The payoff down the road will be great.    With a person focused on generating revenue, if a time again    comes when the district needs to go to the voters or City Hall for    help, we can point to substantive actions taken on our own to fund    our schools.

·  Partner with interest groups, corporations, etc. into licensing    agreements. We won't rename a history building after a    corporation, but there are innovative and creative ways    corporations can help our district, let the public know of their    philanthropy, and maintain the integrity of an academic    environment. It's done in private schools, and there's no reason    our district can’t have that same source of income.

·  Continue and expand the work of the Director of Theater    Operations and Facility Permits to generate rent from district    property when it's not being used by the schools. Samohi’s    Barnum Hall is already generating revenue from outside groups;    other schools’ auditoriums, fields, and Samohi’s Greek Theater    could be marketed more extensively.

The FOC presented these recommendations about a year ago, and except for the facilities rentals, which had begun before the recommendations were made, I know of no action the board has taken to generate new revenue for the district, except to spend $425,000 on a failed parcel tax measure.