Enrollment is topped out, says the school’s principal; however, a downward trend in student enrollment is seen citywide.
By Melonie Magruder / Special to the Malibu Times
At an enrollment currently topping 1,325 in the middle and high schools, Malibu High Principal Mark Kelly said the schools’ facilities couldn’t handle a surge in new student enrollment, even if one was anticipated.
This scenario seems unlikely, however, as other Malibu school principals have noted a downward trend in enrollment. Kelly acknowledged that this is probably a function of shifting demographics, reflecting a new economic reality. Currently, only about 30 percent of Malibu residents have children enrolled in local public schools, as per the vice-chair of the Shark Fund, Russ Haft. This may be due to an aging population, with no younger residents moving in to the area, thanks to prohibitively booming property values, or simply that parents are looking to private institutions.
In the meantime, Kelly is positive about the new school year. New teachers, an expanded computer lab and rising academic scores are some of the achievements the principal pointed out.
In his third year as principal of MHS, Kelly is also overseeing accreditation procedures by the Western Association of Schools and Colleges.
“This will be our third accreditation,” Kelly said. “I’m pretty confident it will go smoothly.”
Malibu High students performed well in the newly mandated CAHSEE, the California High School Exit Exams, this past year, with more than “90 percent of our 10th graders passing with a high API (the Academic Performance Index),” Kelly said.
Kelly credits the continuing rise in academically positive results to “a great staff, really great kids, and the aid and support of the Shark Fund.”
The principal also credited an expanded computer lab to the efforts of the Malibu High Shark Fund, a local sponsorship organization that is able to augment district funding to reach the school’s budgetary goals through strong community participation.
The Shark Fund is a volunteer-driven, nonprofit corporation that works with parents and private citizens to meet the budgetary funding requirements for the school, which, as the other Malibu school principals have confirmed, are not met by state district funding by a long shot.
“The Shark Fund raised in excess of $700,000 for us the past two years,” Kelly said. “Eighty to 90 percent of our district budget goes just to staff. So that leaves it up to the Shark Fund to take care of our computer labs, our extra counseling services, our athletic training … even our new bank of lockers.”
This year, the fund has partnered creatively with, among others, the city of Malibu and the Santa Monica Boys & Girls Club to reach funding goals.
“The reality is that we have to budget at least $300,000 a year to come from the Shark Fund,” Kelly said. “So our kids’ education really is a community affair.”
Kelly isn’t counting on increased funding from the state to make up budgetary short falls, noting that any extra state funds disbursed from Sacramento are likely to go to under-performing or Title One schools.
The new teachers this year are: middle school math teacher Sharron Morgan, high school math teacher Carol Hoffstedt, middle school physical education instructor Lisa Lambert and Ari Jacobs, who joins the English Department in both the middle and high schools.
Kelly also noted the new journalism teacher, Nancy Martinez, who is replacing David Warshawski at the helm of the school’s newspaper, The Current.