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Beverly Hills High School
December 21, 2009
Beverly Hills Schools to Cut Nonresidents
By JENNIFER STEINHAUER
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Daniel Kahn has never lived in this city, but he has attended its legendary public schools since the fourth grade. Now in eighth grade, he is vice president of the student council, plays in two school bands and is an A student who has been preparing to tread in his sister’s footsteps at Beverly Hills High School.
But Daniel will almost certainly be looking for a new place to hang his backpack next fall. The school board here intends to do away with hundreds of slots reserved for nonresident children, most of whom live in nearby neighborhoods of Los Angeles where the homes are nice but the city’s public school system is deeply distressed.
The students used to be a financial boon for Beverly Hills, bringing millions of dollars in state aid with them. But California’s budget crisis is changing the way schools are financed in many wealthy cities, suddenly turning the out-of-towners into money losers.
“Membership has its privileges,” said Lisa Korbatov, vice president of the Beverly Hills school board. “But anyone can be a member. I made a choice to spend more to live in a home here when I could have spent less on a bigger home in another area. But I made a choice and sacrificed.”
Ms. Menna, like several other parents interviewed, said she resented the fact that the Beverly Hills schools were happy to have her children when they brought the district money, but now find them expendable.
“Our kids brought them the money to put programs together that they did not have before,” she said.
Beverly Hills has long enjoyed a reputation for schools that mirror the city. But with declining enrollment in past years, the school district opened its doors to outsiders; currently about one in seven of its roughly 4,800 students — or 775 — attend with out-of-district permits.
The district, like most across the state, had historically been financed by the state based on a formula that pays for each student. The out-of-district students helped fill the classrooms and allow the district to reap extra money ($6,239 per child this year).
But the higher-than-average property taxes here, combined with deep slashes to the state’s education budget because of the recession — about 18 percent this year alone — have combined to change the formula. Essentially, because the city is collecting more in property taxes designated for education than it would receive from the state for its schools, the city is required to use its tax dollars directly to finance its schools.
Suddenly, with no state financing in the mix, there is no incentive to fill empty classrooms with children from other cities.
“I am incredibly compassionate and sympathetic for what is going on here,” said Jake Manaster, a board member. But, he added, “It was very generous of Beverly Hills to take 20 percent of students from the outside.”
Looked at another way, Ms. Korbatov said, a person mugged in another city would not expect Beverly Hills police officers to respond. “City services,” she said, “be they fire, police, schools, are reserved for residents and their children.”
But one long-serving board member, Myra Lurie, opposes the plan. “I am seething mad,” Ms. Lurie said. “We invited these kids in, and they have been part of the family and the fabric of our district. People are not well served in my community by looking mean-spirited or elitist.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/ed...?ref=education
But Daniel will almost certainly be looking for a new place to hang his backpack next fall. The school board here intends to do away with hundreds of slots reserved for nonresident children, most of whom live in nearby neighborhoods of Los Angeles where the homes are nice but the city’s public school system is deeply distressed.
The students used to be a financial boon for Beverly Hills, bringing millions of dollars in state aid with them. But California’s budget crisis is changing the way schools are financed in many wealthy cities, suddenly turning the out-of-towners into money losers.
“Membership has its privileges,” said Lisa Korbatov, vice president of the Beverly Hills school board. “But anyone can be a member. I made a choice to spend more to live in a home here when I could have spent less on a bigger home in another area. But I made a choice and sacrificed.”
Ms. Menna, like several other parents interviewed, said she resented the fact that the Beverly Hills schools were happy to have her children when they brought the district money, but now find them expendable.
“Our kids brought them the money to put programs together that they did not have before,” she said.
Beverly Hills has long enjoyed a reputation for schools that mirror the city. But with declining enrollment in past years, the school district opened its doors to outsiders; currently about one in seven of its roughly 4,800 students — or 775 — attend with out-of-district permits.
The district, like most across the state, had historically been financed by the state based on a formula that pays for each student. The out-of-district students helped fill the classrooms and allow the district to reap extra money ($6,239 per child this year).
But the higher-than-average property taxes here, combined with deep slashes to the state’s education budget because of the recession — about 18 percent this year alone — have combined to change the formula. Essentially, because the city is collecting more in property taxes designated for education than it would receive from the state for its schools, the city is required to use its tax dollars directly to finance its schools.
Suddenly, with no state financing in the mix, there is no incentive to fill empty classrooms with children from other cities.
“I am incredibly compassionate and sympathetic for what is going on here,” said Jake Manaster, a board member. But, he added, “It was very generous of Beverly Hills to take 20 percent of students from the outside.”
Looked at another way, Ms. Korbatov said, a person mugged in another city would not expect Beverly Hills police officers to respond. “City services,” she said, “be they fire, police, schools, are reserved for residents and their children.”
But one long-serving board member, Myra Lurie, opposes the plan. “I am seething mad,” Ms. Lurie said. “We invited these kids in, and they have been part of the family and the fabric of our district. People are not well served in my community by looking mean-spirited or elitist.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/ed...?ref=education
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