Cuts to School Permits Likely

Even while struggling with substantial budget cuts, the Culver City Unified School District is looking to curtail the program that allows students from outside the district to attend its campuses, even though it brings in $5 million a year.

The school board is scheduled to set limits on the number of permit students admitted for 6th and 9th grades at its July 13 meeting. There will be no changes to admission for parents who meet the minimum permit requirements, which include working within the school district boundaries,  said Scott Zeidman, vice president of Culver City's Board of Education.

The Culver City School Board began seeking to curb the program after the Los Angeles Unified School District threatened to yank the permits of all students who live within its boundaries but attend schools in other districts, including in Culver City.

Nearly 1 in 5 students attending Culver City public schools live outside the city boundaries. 

Though LAUSD Supt. Ramon Cortines tabled the issue for the coming school year, he made it clear that tighter permitting rules are on the horizon.

Though losing so many students--and the revenue that they bring--will be painful, it's better to have a plan in place for the reduction than to be taken off guard,  Zeidman said. "It's a bad business plan to have 20 percent of your business come from one place," he said. "And schools are unfortunately a business."

In recent years, a permissive permitting policy has led to a 587 student increase in the number of out-of-district students in the city's middle and high school since 2004.

One parent who lives in Los Angeles and whose daughter attends Culver City High School on a permit said that both districts should consider the welfare of  students rather than the bottom line.

"Some schools in LAUSD do not provide good education or a safe environment for the kids," said the woman, who gave her first name as Amany and asked that her last name not be used for fear of imperiling her daughter's permit. "Culver has done a good job in keeping their schools good for the kids."

Two Culver City families expressed mixed feelings on the issue.

"We don't want to lose the permit kids, but we need a more balanced approach to our student population, to our facilities and the complexities of revenue," said Alan Elmont, who has two children entering  8th grade at Culver City Middle School. "There are many that believe our secondary schools are overpopulated from a facilities standpoint."

Jody Reichen, who has a daughter at Culver High and a son at Culver Middle, said she was concerned about turning away students whose options are limited. "It's a shame for kids who may have to go to a school that may not have the same resources," Reichen said. 

Zeidman defended the school board's approach, saying the district needs to be prepared for the inevitable decline in enrollment--and revenue—from  a loss of students whose home district is Los Angeles. "If LAUSD decides to cut off our permits, we'd be devastated," he said. "We need to find a way not to rely on permits."

Coming soon: Patch will report further on parent reaction to school permits.