From a statement read at the Oct. 30 SMMUSD School Board special meeting
Malibu is not asking for anything unusual—it’s simply asking for local control of our schools, something that Santa Monica has always had and takes for granted.
The central theme of the Santa Monica-Malibu school board is equity. Keep that in mind as we look at some issues.
With foreign language, Samohi has Spanish, French, Chinese, Japanese and Latin while Malibu High has Spanish and French. Santa Monica has a dual-language immersion school and a project-based learning alternative school, both an hour away from Malibu. Malibu has nothing like that.
Our facilities are outdated to say the least. More accurately, the facilities are decrepit, poorly maintained, PCB-contaminated and rat infested. The pool has 150 times the level of TDS [total dissolved solids] considered safe.
School board members, please explain: How is that equity?
Let’s take a look at some other things the school bonds forced on us because Santa Monica has 84 percent of the votes and Malibu has 16 percent. The 2012 Measure ES was structured so that Malibu taxpayers pay 30 percent and receive 20 percent—to the tune of $42 million. Malibu pays $119 million to receive $77 million. The 2006 Measure BB was even worse; Malibu pays 34 percent and receives 19 percent. Malibu pays $91 million and receives $50 million, giving Santa Monica schools another $41 million of Malibu taxpayer money.
Board members, please tell us how you’d feel if the tables were turned.
With the passage of those two bonds, Santa Monica gets over $90 million and we get decrepit facilities, no on-site facility management and a depressing school/work environment for students and staff.
Three years and $13 million from the school district general fund were spent on lawyers and consultants to fight remediation with PCBs. Many families left our schools over this. In the end, federal court ruled that remediation was indeed necessary.
These decisions are made behind closed doors by a group of people who are geographically removed, personally unaffected and heretofore unaccountable.
It’s easy to see why Santa Monica has not been eager to separate—it has all the benefits with none of the responsibility.
We consider this board to be in dereliction of duty.
It is time to let Santa Monica take care of Santa Monica and Malibu take care of Malibu.
Karen Farrer