A few months ago, I went to a meeting of The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, where consultants reported on District finances. The talk was so muffled, I realized serious problems were being mentioned, but in a way that came to an attempted burial, rather than an open discussion.

The same matters later came before the City Council, and I atten ded two long sessions on increased City aid to SMMUSD. After much talk, the School District’s former CFO, Mr. Winston Braham, was released from a “gag order” agreement, and he spoke to the Council (on 12 June) about District fiscal difficulties. Much of this involved technical matters, and Mr. Braham gave more detail on them than most lay people could absorb. With his presentation, I think he showed both professional competence and ethical distinction. In short, he struck me as public official of a higher caliber than I’m accustomed to in many upper-level jobs in our civic bodies.

Mr. Braham said then (and in a later letter to the editor of the Lookout) that
he had spoken out to protect his own reputation. Now, it seems some SMMUSD leaders want to blame him for the SMMUSD’s financial ills. Yet the District signed a contract that entailed spending beyond its potential revenues at least once before Mr. Braham arrived. I don’t see how Mr. Braham can be blamed for that, or for the current situation, which he tried to avert.

To blame a departed official for problems he did not cause detracts From efforts at solution, and risks expensive, time-consuming litigation. If this finally brings critical attention from outside legal authorities, costs to SMMUSD in money and in the time and reputation of its leaders is likely to be much greater. (Our cliché-mongers love to say “only the students will suffer;” I doubt that would be true.)

It is time to thank Mr. Braham for his service, and the District’s remaining leaders for their efforts – and to go on without more recrimination to solve problems with finances and with Special Education that have also surfaced recently.

Arthur Harris
Santa Monica