Much rhetoric and propaganda has been bandied about in recent weeks regarding the desire of MUST (Malibu Unified School Team) to have the Malibu schools “secede” from the Santa Monica Malibu School District. In particular, Rufus Baker’s letter of September 23 essentially finds the notion “frivolous” and feels those unincorporated “90265” communities outside Malibu’s official boundaries “do not identify” with the City and their children will somehow be left out of the equation.
Mr. Baker’s argument simply makes no sense. Our children attend Webster Elementary in Malibu and many of their friends and classmates live in areas like Sunset Mesa, Pepperdine and the many canyons, which lie outside Malibu City limits. In recent weeks, we also canvassed many additional parents in the Sunset Mesa neighborhood (which Mr. Baker references and is geographically closest to Pacific Palisades and Santa Monica) to make sure we were not out of touch with their beliefs.
While these areas have their own political, jurisdictional and boundary issues which pre-date any school redistricting discussion, it is clear these people have not chosen to “reject” (his word, not ours) Malibu or the Malibu schools their children attend. Our own neighborhood (Serra Retreat-Central Malibu) has such a dividing line, where one side of a street is the City of Malibu and the other is unincorporated Los Angeles.
The idea of secession is anything but “frivolous” to the many parents, PTA presidents and educators who are considering this topic very seriously. MUST is committed to bringing the issue of succession to the voters because it believes separate school districts will allow each city to focus its efforts on the students in the community and in its own manner expand the resources devoted to those students. As it stands now, decisions must be made to benefit the greatest number of students, yet sometimes what is best for Santa Monica children is in direct conflict with what is best for Malibu children. If Malibu succeeds in convincing the state that a redistricting is advisable and the voters of Malibu agree, those who attend Malibu schools can continue to do so. But ultimately, this issue deserves to be put in front of the voters and let them decide!
Eric and Patricia Gruendemann