I am ashamed of Malibu, my community. I have just reviewed the precinct results from Measure A, the parcel tax to support our local public schools and have discovered that the measure failed because of the voters from Malibu. Santa Monica passed the measure with 66.8 percent Yes votes. Malibu, on the other hand, had only 52 percent Yes votes.
I just completed a campaign for city council where when I spoke about our public schools I heard a common refrain about Malibu getting its “fair share” from the SMMUSD. How disingenuous can Malibu be, to question the allocation of resources to our schools when we are clearly unwilling to make even a minor sacrifice to support our very own children? One thing this vote clearly demonstrates is that Malibu will not and cannot financially support the notion of creating its own district or becoming an independent charter cluster. We are lucky the residents of Santa Monica don’t try to just get rid of us.
We are all fortunate to live in a community full of physical beauty but it is time we recognize that there is more to this “community” than just aesthetics. We have a collective obligation to make the sacrifices necessary to ensure that our future is as promising as our past.
We as a community need to reassess our priorities. We need to recognize that if we destroy our public education we destroy our future and all that which makes Malibu such a desirable community.
Michael Sidley