District has extra cash, board told

Laguna Beach schools are starting the new school year with $1.4 million in the bank, the Board of Education learned Tuesday.

The funds were the result of conservative budgeting last year when the economy was beginning to falter, and an unexpected boost in property taxes, from which the district gets its funds, according to Norma Shelton, assistant superintendent for business services.

“As the economy fell apart, we were cautious, and then we received more from property taxes than we projected,” Shelton told the board.

The district will have $800,000 to spend any way it wishes, since the remainder will be returned to groups that didn’t use the funds, Supt. Robert Fraisse said.

Increase in student numbers

The added revenues will come in handy, with a boost in the student population of 118 — 65 in elementary grades, 12 in middle school and 41 more at the high school.

Supt. Robert Fraisse noted that in most other districts — which rely on a per-pupil cash outlay of about $5,000 from the state — 100-plus more students would represent a windfall to the district. But in Laguna Beach, which is a Basic Aid district and depends upon its own property tax base for funds, that is not the case. Instead, the district will have to budget for the additional students from existing revenues.

Smooth start to year

The beginning of school last week was considered “a smooth start” at the district’s four campuses, the board was told.

“We had a lot of energy, but we got it under control,” Thurston Middle School principal Joanne Culverhouse said, noting that some eighth-graders were taking lunch money and otherwise “hazing” the new sixth-graders.

Laguna Beach High School Principal Don Austin told the board his biggest problem of the first week was the high number of class changes requested by students.

“We had a lot of class changes, 400, which is excessive,” he said.

Shelton reported that, despite an accident with a school bus, requiring students to take another bus, transportation issues were minimal. “We didn’t lose any children,” she joked.

Board members asked whether bus fees could be reduced for some families who are feeling an economic pinch, and Fraisse said district staff would look at ways to ease the financial burden.

Shelton also reported that many parents are taking advantage of the district’s Internet deposit system for school lunches, where they can pay online and then monitor what food items their children are buying. That program leaped by 40%, she said.

In a departure from the trend of increasing student population, Special Education Director Irene White said her program has dropped from 320 students in the 2007-08 school year to 290. She added that, of the new students, many have “intense needs.”

Partnership with Boys & Girls Club

In a Spotlight on Excellence report, the board heard a presentation about the district’s involvement with the Laguna Beach Boys & Girls Clubs.

The district partners with the club in many areas, including delivering homework assignments directly to the club, said board member Kerry Reynolds.

Reynolds noted that the population at the club has jumped significantly, as parents have been forced to go back to work.

The TLC club, which meets at Bluebird Park, has 30 more members and is at capacity, she said.

The TLC Kinderbuddy Preschool Program now has so many students that families from out of the area can no longer be accommodated, said Director Terry Ann Barman.

St. John lauded as ‘hero’

In other business, the board recognized community activist Sande St. John as a “community hero” for her work with the Back-to-School Party that provided clothing and other essentials for families in need of help getting their kids ready for school.

“You are a wonderful asset to our town,” said board President El Hathaway of St. John.

St. John in turn thanked the many donors, including the Montage Resort & Spa, which gave $2,500, and the district itself.

She also noted the efforts of Marsha Bode, who came to the board meeting.

“Marsha and I have been doing this for years,” St. John said of the Back-to-School party. “We started it after the fires in 1993.”