March 19, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

LA County Committee Report Reflects a “Dire” Financial Future for Students of Santa Monica if City of Malibu’s Proposal to Split the District Is Approved

Editor’s note: the public comment period mentioned in the following letter has ended.

The following is a letter from Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati on September 10 regarding a recent report that recommends Los Angeles County education officials deny moving forward with a proposal to split the public school district serving Santa Monica and Malibu

Dear Parents, Guardians, Staff, Students and Community Members:

As you may recall, the Malibu City Council has filed a Petition to separate the Malibu territory from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The SMMUSD Board of Education has openly acknowledged its support for separating SMMUSD into two school districts as long as the financial terms are fair and equitable and students are not harmed, regardless of which part of the district they attend school.

We have long warned however, that the Petition submitted by the Malibu City Council is not the way to separate as it is harmful to the students in both territories.

Last week, staff of the County Committee (the entity that recommends approval or disapproval of such petitions) released a report detailing the harm that would be caused if the Malibu City Council’s Petition were approved.

The report prepared by County Committee staff and its consultant, School Services of California, presents an independent third-party analysis that supports the position that SMMUSD has maintained from the outset. The report demonstrates that the Malibu City Council’s proposed financial formula would have “dire consequences” for students who would remain in the Santa Monica portion of the district. The independent third party evaluation makes clear that Malibu’s petition does not address the concerns repeatedly raised by SMMUSD. The proposed petition would result in a “catastrophic 21.52% revenue drop” for a newly created SMUSD, and an immediate funding gap of $33,759 per student in Malibu compared with $9,964 per student in Santa Monica.

Moreover, the report states that the petition fails to meet eight of nine of the criteria set forth by state law. For example, current and projected enrollment of a new Malibu district do not come close to the 1,501 recommended by state law (Criteria 1 of 9).

Read the full preliminary report here

While the SMMUSD remains open to a fair and equitable financial separation, as Superintendent, I believe the County Committee should deny the Malibu City Council’s Petition rather than continue to spend needless time and energy establishing what is already clear. The  Malibu City Council cannot meet the criteria set forth in state law for unification unless and until there is a fair and equitable financial plan in place. To date, no such plan has been proposed by the Malibu City Council.

Instead of SMMUSD staff and community members spending valuable time, energy and resources in a continued and protracted battle over Malibu City Council’s Petition, (particularly in the midst of a pandemic during which we are striving to return our students to campus in safe and sustainable way) we are requesting the County Committee deny the Malibu City Council’s Petition.

As a District, we remain open to working together with residents of Malibu to reach a fair, equitable and sustainable solution to the Malibu community’s desire to have an independent school district. 

In the meantime, we are now actively preparing for the second hearing before the County Committee that is scheduled to occur via Zoom on Saturday, September 18, 2021 at 9 a.m., during which we will urge the County Committee to deny the Malibu City Council Petition rather than move it forward for further study and analysis. Right now, we need to focus all of our attention and resources on the business of educating our students in a safe and sustainable way during this ongoing pandemic.

We need your help to oppose this petition: Email or pre-recorded video comments are due by September 14 at 4 p.m. There will also be a time for public comment during the hearing. If you are interested in participating in opposing the Malibu City Council’s Petition, please fill out and submit this form and we will contact you: https://bit.ly/OpposePetition2.

We have requested that the LA County Office of Education translate the report to Spanish. They are working to provide a translated version of the executive summary in the next few days. We will share that version with our Spanish-speaking families when we receive it.

To learn more about Malibu Unification, please visit the Unification link found on our webpage: www.smmusd.org/MalibuUnification.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Dr. Ben Drati, Superintendent

Related Posts

SM.a.r.t Column: Can California ARBs Balance Affordable Housing with Community Character in the Face of New Housing Laws?

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

By suggestion, I attended the March 4th ARB (Architectural Review Board) meeting that addressed the Gelson Lincoln Boulevard Project.  After...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Need for Safety

March 10, 2024

March 10, 2024

Earlier this week, in the dark pre-dawn hours, a pair of thugs covered in masks and hoodies burst into the...

Film Review: The Oscar Landscape 2024

March 7, 2024

March 7, 2024

FILM REVIEWTHE OSCAR LANDSCAPE 2024A Look at the Choices – Academy Awards – March 10, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. on...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Five Saving Historic Santa Monica

March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024

Our beloved City is surrounded by many threats, from sea level rise to homelessness, to housing affordability, to cancerous overdevelopment,...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Gelson’s Looms Large

February 22, 2024

February 22, 2024

Our guest column this week is by SMCLC (the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City). SMCLC is a well-established...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Top Toady Town

February 18, 2024

February 18, 2024

Throughout history, from the ancient Romans and Assyrians to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, siege warfare has served as an...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The Sunset of Home Ownership

February 11, 2024

February 11, 2024

We are watching the sunset of our historical and cultural American dream of home ownership as we now are crossing...

SMa.r.t. Column: B(U)Y RIGHT

February 4, 2024

February 4, 2024

“By Right” state housing laws that give developers, in certain projects, the ability to ignore codes ‘by right.’ Well, that...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Serf City

January 28, 2024

January 28, 2024

Homelessness is a problem in California, and nowhere is this more evident than in our fair city, where the unhoused...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Bond Fatigue

January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024

Last week’s SMart article,  described two critical problems faced by our Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD): the declining...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Peace on Earth

December 27, 2023

December 27, 2023

We are all, by now, saturated with jingles, holiday cards, “ho ho ho’s,” countless commercial advertisements, and exhortations to feel...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Clock with Mayor Brock

December 17, 2023

December 17, 2023

I became Santa Monica’s Mayor on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, following a simple “switch of the chairs” transition with outgoing...

S.M.a.r.t Column: SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL 2024

December 10, 2023

December 10, 2023

Position:Seeking Santa Monica City Council Candidate(s) Introduction:Exciting opportunity for the right candidate(s) to work with like-minded Council members committed to...

S.M.a.r.t Column: ARB (NOT Ready to Build!)

December 3, 2023

December 3, 2023

Santa Monica City’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), established in 1974, acts “…to preserve existing areas of natural beauty, cultural importance...

SMa.r.t. Column: We are thankful for….

November 27, 2023

November 27, 2023

SMa.r.t. would like to wish you all a great Thanksgiving with friends and family and also to thank its readers...