This is an open letter to the community of Malibu regarding the petition to remove Point Dume Marine Science Elementary School (PDMSS) from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and make it an independent charter school.
PDMSS, Webster and Juan Cabrillo are all excellent public schools thriving under the auspices of the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. Collectively, they form the backbone of the local public education our children enjoy. Together they provide a cohesive link to our geographically diverse community. This link is only strengthened when all of our children come together in the sixth grade to attend Malibu High School.
Malibu is a small community. Our educational community is even smaller. Because of our size, any change to our current school structure will have a host of unanticipated adverse consequences.
The proposed charter seeks to add sixth grade to the elementary curriculum. This means that unlike the sixth grade students from Cabrillo and Webster, the PDMSS charter students would not move on to Malibu High School. The anticipated loss of these sixth grade students to Malibu High School would have devastating consequences. It could mean a staff reduction at Malibu High of up to three teaching positions. Because of how Malibu High is staffed, such a loss will necessarily affect the educational opportunities for all students in grades 6 through 12.
The proposed charter will require a minimum student enrollment to make it financially viable. It is anticipated that the core group of the charter’s students would come from the current geographic boundaries of PDMSS. However, in the event students from PDMSS’ current geographic boundaries prove insufficient to meet those attendance requirements, the charter school will necessarily have to actively recruit additional students. Those additional students will in all likelihood come from the surrounding schools, Webster and Juan Cabrillo. The net result of this recruitment could affect the educational excellence of those elementary schools.
I understand no one is desirous of these consequences but they are nonetheless real. Therefore, before any decision is made, our community must be made aware of all the detriments, which will result from this proposed change. Only then can we be assured whether creation of an independent charter school for Point Dume is best for our students and for our community.
Mike Sidley