No more distractions, rats and all. Boy, do we have a rat problem. But it’s just one more representation of why we need our own school district. It took nearly two months for the SMMUSD to take it seriously and, yes, there are rodent issues in Santa Monica schools as well and terribly dirty bathrooms (which, by the way, I cannot fault the custodians for as they are doing their best of a really unfortunate situation). But this points to bigger issues: local accountability—something that both communities should have. If this is even slightly true to a lesser degree in Santa Monica, these issues haven’t risen to the crisis proportions of poor service experienced in Malibu. These issues are clearly worse in Malibu and for obvious reasons. Malibu is over 20 miles from all the support managers in the district. Malibu’s needs are different in some cases (e.g., pest control) and problems greater (e.g., PCBs and pests). Malibu’s voice is less powerful (16 percent of voters and one of seven school board members). Most importantly, this situation points to the fact that the SMMUSD is clearly failing to provide basic conditions for learning in both cities. This is a great reason for separation. As an independent school district, SMUSD will have a board and administration focused on one manageable four-mile-by-four-mile city with seven elementary schools, two middle schools and a single comprehensive high school. The district’s own reports continue to indicate that they are failing to meet the educational excellence and equity issues because of the ongoing distractions that have plagued this school board. Well, there is a simple way to get rid of one of the biggest distractions. Approve the MUNC [Malibu Unification Negotiations Committee] report, designate the necessary committees to finish studying the costs and curriculum issues, and finalize a long-term payment deal that is fair to both cities and does not hurt the children and allows both communities schools to flourish.
Seth Jacobson