June 9, 2023 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

An Open Letter To The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board Of Education:

Dear Editor,

As members of the Malibu community, we are greatly troubled by the manner in which district officials have publicly addressed the enrollment decline in Malibu schools, characterizing the problem as “demographic.”

The fact that the District would address our current enrollment decline simply as a demographic phenomenon only reinforces in the minds of those who live here that the District is deaf as to what is taking place on in Malibu and clueless as to what should be done.

It is a well-known fact in Malibu that a large number of Malibu’s families have either decided not to enroll or withdrawn their children from our public schools as a direct and specific response to the district’s takeover of fundraising as well as the PCB controversy.

Further, we are stunned to hear that the district’s proposed response to the enrollment decline is to advertise to get families who live outside Malibu to drive their kids to Malibu to fill the empty seats. While we have no objection to students transferring in, we would like to offer the superintendent and school board a much more appropriate and responsible response to the enrollment decline:

“District leadership acknowledges the reasons why Malibu parents are withdrawing their children. Public schools belong to the community; we are their stewards. As we develop and refine our policies and practices, we will work with the Malibu community in an increasingly responsive way so that these families will be excited to enroll their children and support public schools with the same commitment and enthusiasm they showed in the past.”

Historically, Malibu schools have been extraordinarily high achieving, with extremely high levels of volunteerism and local financial support. These resources, along with higher enrollments of local children, will quickly return if the Board hears and empowers us as we work to improve our schools.

Sincerely yours,

Undersigned Members of the Malibu Community

Desi Bradley

Soniya Perl

Lori Keeffe

Candace Kelly

Karen Farrer

Kim Bonewitz

Roui Israel

John Miller

Kasey Earnest

Siugen Constanza

Jennifer DeNicola

Seth Jacobson

Melanie Goudzwaard

Kristina Kell

Shamra Tankersley

Brian Strange

Suzy Forman

Bryan Ingram

in Opinion
Related Posts

Landmarks Commission Back From the Dead

June 2, 2023

June 2, 2023

For over three years, SMa.r.t. (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow) has consistently warned that recently increased intense development...

SMa.r.t. Column: Improving Santa Monica’s Future: A Resident-Oriented Master Plan

May 28, 2023

May 28, 2023

Improving Santa Monica’s Future: A Resident-Oriented Master Plan Santa Monica, like many cities, requires a well-defined master plan to guide...

Pretext Stops Are a Vital Crime Prevention Tool

May 22, 2023

May 22, 2023

By Cody Green, Santa Monica Police Officers Association (SMPOA) Chairman and Lieutenant, SMPD  Recently the Santa Monica Public Safety Oversight...

Is City Government Listening to You?

May 21, 2023

May 21, 2023

Sometimes, it might feel like City Council members or local government staff aren’t paying attention to the concerns of residents....

New Program Can Help Protect Southern California Homes in the Event of an Earthquake

May 13, 2023

May 13, 2023

Residents Have Until May 31 To Apply For Seismic Retrofit Grants By Janiele Maffei, Chief Mitigation Officer for the California...

SMO (So Many Options) Part 1

April 20, 2023

April 20, 2023

SMart (Santa Monica Architects for a Responsible Tomorrow)  The volume of discussion around the options for Santa Monica Airport (SMO)...

SMa.r.t. Column: Reusing Buildings for the Benefit of All

April 2, 2023

April 2, 2023

[Almost two years ago our colleague Michael Jolly prepared this analysis of the benefits and risks of repurposing existing buildings,...

SMa.r.t. Column: I Told You So

March 28, 2023

March 28, 2023

On January17, 2015  SMa.r.t. posted a prophetic article in the Daily Press written by Ron Goldman FAIA advocating maintaining a...

Column: SB 9 Ended R-1 Zoning, but It’s Not Meeting Goals

March 11, 2023

March 11, 2023

By Tom Elias More than a year after it took effect, the landmark housing density law known as SB 9...

SMa.r.t. Column: The Urgency to Retrofit Earthquake-Deficient Buildings

March 6, 2023

March 6, 2023

Recent early-morning tremors off the Malibu coast, and the huge and terrible earthquake in Turkey and Syria have made us...

SMa.r.t. Column: ​​Reinforcing the Future – A Revisit

February 27, 2023

February 27, 2023

Six years go we discussed, in these pages, the city’s then-renewed earthquake-retrofit rules. At the time we argued that the...

Column: The Inevitable Conversions Begin Multiplying

February 25, 2023

February 25, 2023

By Tom Elias It’s a phenomenon from New York to Dallas to Fresno and Los Angeles, one that seemed inevitable...

Column: The Fantasy World of California Housing Policy

February 20, 2023

February 20, 2023

By Tom Elias If you’re looking for sure things among bills under consideration in the state Legislature, think of one...

SMa.r.t. Column: Santa Monica City Council – Planners, Politicians, or Developers?

February 19, 2023

February 19, 2023

Santa Monica – a progressive city 20 years ago, a chaotic city today! A city that is struggling for its...

SMa.r.t. Column: What’s Wrong With This Picture?

February 16, 2023

February 16, 2023

The picture shown above is the future of Santa Monica. Large tall buildings along the Boulevards and Avenues plus Downtown...