Landmark vote clears the path for two independent school districts after more than two decades of negotiations
In a long-awaited special school board meeting Monday night, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Trustees voted 7-0 to approve three landmark agreements that pave the way for the district to divide into two separate school districts: a Santa Monica Unified School District and a Malibu Unified School District.
The unanimous decision marks the closest the two coastal cities have ever come to ending a unification saga that dates back more than 20 years. The push for separation is not new. In 2014, the short-lived Malibu Unification Negotiations Committee (MUNC) was formed. In 2017, the City of Malibu filed an official petition with the Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization (later denied and now pending at the state level). In 2018, the district approved a 50-year revenue-sharing concept and created an ongoing unification subcommittee.
What changed everything was a formal mediation process led by neutral mediator Terena Marsh that began in earnest over the past two years. Both sides agreed to two guiding principles:
- Creating two independent districts is in the best interest of all students.
- Both new districts must have sufficient, predictable funding to maintain the same level of excellent programs and services students currently enjoy.
Because SMMUSD is a “basic-aid” (community-funded) district rather than state-funded) district, no standard Education Code formula exists for dividing revenues. The parties essentially had to invent their own.
The Three Agreements
1. Property Tax Revenue Sharing Agreement (PTRSA)
The financial heart of the deal. Starting with an 88% Santa Monica/12% Malibu split (roughly mirroring pre-fire enrollment), Santa Monica’s base funding grows at a guaranteed 4% annually. Malibu receives a fixed dollar amount that is protected against local revenue losses on the Santa Monica side. Donations and education-foundation funds are excluded from the formula. Revenue sharing continues through 2042 with a gradual five-to-ten-year taper to avoid a “fiscal cliff.”
2. Operational Transfer Agreement (OTA)
Governs the physical and logistical division: buses, equipment, IT systems, student records, special education services, and site-based assets. Most site-level resources stay with their current campus. The agreement creates transition teams and preserves inter-district transfers (including for siblings) during the changeover.
3. Joint Powers Authority (JPA)
A seven-member oversight body (three Santa Monica appointees, three Malibu, one neutral) that will administer revenue transfers, mediate disputes, and make non-binding recommendations if fiscal triggers are hit.
Fiscal consultant Shin Green, who has modeled dozens of scenarios over years, told the board the most stressful years will be the first two after separation, but “thereafter things appear much easier” and both districts are projected to remain solvent and able to offer comparable services.
Speakers from both cities filled the board chambers and Zoom.
- Malibu resident and parent Wade Major called the moment “historic,” thanking the district for “cementing your places in history” while acknowledging “we’re going to make mistakes … but we’ll learn from each other’s successes.”
- Teachers’ union president Claudia Baptista-Nicholas urged caution, citing declining enrollment, potential federal funding cuts, and the possible non-extension of Proposition 55, warning that separation could exacerbate staffing reductions and program cuts.
- Malibu advocate Jo Drummond, speaking for families who have waited “more than 15 years,” acknowledged Santa Monica “negotiated very aggressively” but said Malibu is willing to accept the terms because “local control and stable funding are finally within reach.”
- Multiple speakers thanked the mediation team, staff, consultants, and the board subcommittee (Laurie Lieberman, Jon Kean, and Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein) for countless hours of work.
Every board member spoke at length, each sharing remarks that underscored the gravity of the vote.
Veteran member Jon Kean, who has served on the unification subcommittee for seven years, called the agreements “the culmination of professional, deliberative, and often bruising democratic work.” He emphasized that separation is now as much a “fiscal necessity” as an educational choice, given rising per-pupil costs in the smaller Malibu pathway.
Vice President Laurie Lieberman admitted, “As an idealist it saddens me we couldn’t find a way to stay together,” but concluded a fair separation is better for both communities. She committed to addressing teacher job-security concerns through future special legislation and a possible Santa Monica retention fund for junior teachers.
Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, joining remotely, praised the “true democratic deliberation” in mediation and the commanding expertise of consultants Shin Green and David Kossuth.
Longest-serving member Maria Leon-Vazquez revealed she was once the lone “no” vote on exploring separation but has come full circle: “I understand the need … let’s give the community the opportunity to move forward.”
Newer members Alicia Mignano, Malibu representative Stacy Rouse, and Board President Jennifer Smith said they were guided by the twin principles of “kids first” and “no harm to either side,” voicing confidence in the financial modeling and gratitude for the subcommittee’s patient, thorough work.
Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton, who inherited the issue midway through his tenure, called the process “a master class in how difficult governance can actually work when people stay focused on students.”
The agreements now go to the Malibu City Council for a vote on Monday night. If approved there, the parties will jointly decide on a final approval pathway (county committee, state board, or direct legislation).
Special legislation will still be required to:
- Preserve the existing parcel tax for both cities
- Clarify revenue-transfer legality
- Provide additional labor protections sought by unions
- Potentially allow a public vote in both communities (a priority for several board members)
Even with swift progress, actual separation is not expected before the 2028–29 school year at the earliest.
After the vote, attendees lingered for hugs, handshakes, and a few tears. For the first time in generations, concrete, board-approved documents exist that make two thriving districts financially and operationally possible.
As board member Stacy Rouse put it in her closing remarks: “We disrupted an entire system this year. Now we get to build two new ones — better, because we did it with shared values and mutual respect.”
Whether those values can sustain the years of technical, legal, and political work still ahead remains the central question. But for one December evening in Santa Monica, the answer felt, at long last, like an unequivocal yes.