Wake up, Malibu. Wake up, Santa Monica, you are about to be ripped off by Measure S.
Only 15 percent of the students at SMC are from Malibu or Santa Monica. If this passes, homeowners, it will be your third tax hike in three years; for tenants it’s another rent hike. Seniors are not exempt. The county can sell your home for failure to pay.
This proposition adds another $135 million to the largely unspent $160 million we gave Santa Monica College just two years ago. Do you want to give away control of your parks, playing fields, and other public facilities to SMC and have them dictate usage? That is what Prop S does. Do you want to turn parks into parking lots or redecorate administration offices? It can happen. It entices us with promises of playing fields, but guarantees none.
Although proponents call this a “partnership” between education and government, the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District and the City of Santa Monica have already refused to partner with Santa Monica College. Prop S requires absolutely no partners. The measure allows SMC to tax and spend our money as they see fit. It authorizes SMC to use our tax dollars instead of private donations to build the controversial Madison Complex. Malibu residents will pay full cost but 80 percent of the bond will be spent in Santa Monica. That is not fair!
Another interesting fact is the funding for Measure S. All you good hearted and generous folks who donated to the SMC Foundation, Inc. thinking it was for scholarships for needy students now find out it is being used for political purposes. (Amount $101 million.) Also the Associated Student Assn. donated $61,000 to the campaign. These funds are supposed to support student activities and provide money to students for emergency aid. We must stop this measure. It is flawed and deceitful.
Richard Baron
Santa Monica