Opponents say the bond will not help Malibu schools and will burden Malibu homeowners. Proponents believe local schools will get repairs and upgrades it needs with the bond money.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District is asking property owners to pay for a $268 million bond that would fund various facility improvements at district schools. This includes those deemed necessary for health and safety reasons, and general upgrades to modernize the schools. But some Malibu residents are saying the tax is unnecessary, puts more of a burden on residents here than in Santa Monica and will help Santa Monica schools more than those in Malibu.
“It’s necessary because we need to take care of our buildings, deal with some of the safety issues, and take our schools into the 21st century,” said Malibu resident Laura Rosenthal, who co-chairs the Yes on BB campaign
The bond would cost homeowners an annual sum of $30 per $100,000 of assessed value of the property. Malibu opponents to the measure say this puts a greater burden on Malibu property owners, while Santa Monicans, which has more renters than homeowners, will have less of a burden, despite being the city with more schools.
“Stop putting the burden on the back of the homeowners,” said Malibu opponent Wade Major. “Why should homeowners have to pay for this? Property taxing is an out-of-date system.”
This year, through a series of meetings, the school district has been working on forming a Facilities Master Plan that would be a guide for the improvements the district’s facilities need. Consultants hired by the district gathered the opinions of parents and others involved as to what they believed was needed for the schools over the next 20 years. The official plan is still being finalized, although the district has determined what it says are the needs at various schools.
However, Measure BB would only fund some projects, and another bond would need to be passed sometime in the next decade to raise more money for the district. How many projects Measure BB could fund has not been determined. If the measure is approved, an oversight committee would be formed to determine what projects should be done.
The bond language gives priority to tasks such as asbestos and mold removal, making the schools safe from earthquakes, repairing leaky roofs, other safety measures, and repairing and building new classrooms.
Rosenthal said other projects such as expanding the Malibu High School library could be possible, but she stopped short of saying this measure would pay for such a project.
“I do not have a crystal ball, but I have no concern that Malibu will not get what it needs,” Rosenthal said.
It is also possible that the school district could get more money if the state’s $10.4 billion bond measure, 1D, passes. The district could then use BB money as matching funds to acquire 1D money.
“The only way you can get money from the state bond is with matching funds, so without the money from the local measure, we can’t get that state money,” Rosenthal said.
But Major said the lack of specifics from the BB proponents on what will be done with the money is a problem. He said he believes more of the needs are with Santa Monica schools, and Malibu should not have to pay for that.
“Malibu has just four [public] schools, and it’s the schools in Santa Monica that need the most of the repairs, and new classrooms,” Major said. “This is a Santa Monica problem, not a Malibu problem … And the average Malibu homeowner has to pay through the nose for this.”