The city of Malibu is no longer actively pursuing the separation of Malibu’s school district from Santa Monica.
That’s the latest decision made by city council, which voted Monday night to suspend its petition while awaiting a decision from the Santa Monica-based school district, expected to come in mid-February.
Just a couple of months ago, Malibu went forward with a petition signed by city council requesting the Los Angeles County Office of Education begin exploring “unification” of a Malibu-only school district independent of Santa Monica, to which Malibu has been attached for decades.
Now, council has begrudgingly—evidently at the request not only of the SMMUSD Board of Education but AMPS (Advocates for Malibu Public Schools)—voted to put that effort on pause.
But to say the council made the move begrudgingly may be an understatement—as evidenced by Council Member Lou La Monte’s heated language on Monday night:
“Personally, I wouldn’t give them 10 more minutes, because … the original MUNC charter was 90 days, and a year-and-a-half went by and still nothing happened as a result of that,” La Monte said. “One of the rationales we heard for doing Feb 15 is if we don’t do it that way, then they would have to automatically oppose [separation]; my feeling is they’re going to automatically oppose it anyway. So, as far as the timing’s concerned, I don’t see what we’re getting out of that, but if you think that’s ok, then I support you.”
La Monte also raised issue with the idea that Malibu could be paying off Santa Monica for half a century—an idea that seemed popular in Santa Monica when it was introduced earlier this month.
“… As far as the continuing support of the Santa Monica school system is concerned, I’m hearing this number float around of 50 years, and as far as I’m concerned, that is absolutely a nonstarter, from me,” the council member continued. “I think we need to find a transitional point, I agree with that. We’ve been supporting the school system for many years and they’re expecting us to continue to supporting it for many years more, and I understand that. I get that. But they’re tossing around a number, and I was at the meeting, we all were, of 50 years, ‘Oh, how about 50 years?’ ‘Yeah, 50 years, that’s a great idea!’ The concept of mortgaging the lives of the citizens of Malibu for the next 50 years to support the Santa Monica School District in a city that is 10 times larger than we are, eight times larger than we are, is insane, from my perspective. I do think we should have a transition … but if it goes beyond that into a 50 year plan, I can’t support that part of it.
“But you’ll always have my support whatever you do.”
His colleagues agreed.
“Well put. You exactly echoed how I felt,” Mayor Pro Tem Rick Mullen said.
“Tell it like it is, Lou,” Council Member Jefferson “Zuma Jay” Wagner added.
“I don’t think we’re talking about a 50 year plan,” Mullen said later. “I’m talking about something reasonable.”
Despite discomfort, council voted unanimously to send a letter asking the county to hold off on processing the council’s petition.