Malibu residents made a show of force before the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education meeting on Tuesday night, May 30. The board held a special meeting at Malibu City Hall — a highly anticipated and delayed chance for the public to voice its opinion on the impending separation of the school district into two separate entities.
Impassioned pleas were made to board members to proceed with the recommendation from the Malibu Unification Negotiation Committee (MUNC) to split the district allowing the city of Malibu to organize and operate its own school system. After public comment the board spent hours contemplating the complex financial aspects of the split, but could not come up with a consensus of how to do it and on what timeline. There was, however, an unofficial agreement to continue work toward separation.
As the only school district in California shared by non-contiguous cities, splitting up the district is being complicated again by revisions in the latest MUNC report that details how a stand-alone Santa Monica district will keep up incremental revenues that a shared district provides.
“Giving up those revenues in the long run, each community living within the resources of their community, is the sticking point that the board got past in the first discussion,” Education Board Member Craig Foster said. “That is fundamental to separation, inescapable and the board agreed to that – at least in principal.”
The biggest uncertainty is how long Malibu will provide funds to Santa Monica to make a SMUSD whole to what they would have received without a break up. The board considered scenarios ranging from a 6- to a 20-year ramp-down period of support after initial payments that are still being worked out.
The report relies on calculations made by state school consultants that factor in property tax income, operating costs, bonds and redevelopment money among a myriad of factors. Board President Laurie Lieberman called it “risky” to rely on projections. After more than a year of meetings, the MUNC calculated a multi-million-dollar repayment schedule from Malibu to Santa Monica to make up the delta of a SMUSD budget gap. With various formulas of cost analysis and scenarios discussed, Santa Monica MUNC member Tom Larmore finally told the standing room only crowd: “Relying on projection for 20 years ahead is foolish. We do the best with what we know. If you run these numbers there will be a delta. Eventually it will level out.”
Critics say Santa Monica is trying to squeeze every penny it can out of Malibu by demanding more “alimony” money — said to be as much as $100 million.
“We’re two wealthy communities talking about money,” Board Member Oscar de la Torre pointed out.
“We hear you,” Education Board Member Maria Leon-Vasquez, whose husband is Santa Monica City Council member Antonio Vasquez, said as she responded to calls for a separation. She added she “is not willing to put children in a financially precarious situation.” Vice-president of the board, Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein, indicated his reservations
Although Foster called School Board Vice President Dr. Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein a core supporter of separation, Tahvildaran-Jesswein did point out that there are voices standing in opposition to the move.
“Some people in both communities think there are greater resources together,” the Vice President said, then admitted, “I’m not a school finance expert.”
The board earlier stated a unanimous desire for the co-existence of two districts serving their respective communities “as long as it can be accomplished in a manner that does not have a negative impact on the financial condition of the remaining Santa Monica Unified School District.”
The split can’t happen fast enough for the parents who showed up Tuesday, some bringing their children who spoke before the board.
“Please do this for our community,” Local activist Carl Randall pleaded. “It’s time for us to have the opportunity to govern ourselves. We’ve done it as a city for 26 successful years.”
Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS) Board Member Seth Jacobson asked the board to be “courageous” by separating the district. He recounted the money and hours spent.
“Think about the people here in this audience and the 2,000-plus who’ve signed petitions,” Jacobson said. Melanie Goudzwaard, also of AMPS, reminded the board how many parents have to drive miles away into Santa Monica to do business at district offices.
Supporter Dierdre Roney spoke to the audience.
“The inherent nature of SMMUSD renders Malibu forever silent and powerless because our population is so small compared to Santa Monica’s. For example, if every single voter in Malibu voted for a single Malibu School Board candidate, that candidate would still lose unless people in Santa Monica also voted for that person,” Roney pointed out. “No Santa Monica candidate needs any Malibu votes to win. In SMMUSD, we are an impotent, marginalized minority and we always will be. Santa Monica is a resource-rich city capable of solving any problems a separation causes. Solve them and not at our expense.”
Malibu Councilmember Lou La Monte received the loudest applause from when he emphatically told the board: “We will make this happen with or without your support.”
After most of the crowd left, the five-hour meeting came to a close when the board agreed to continue to support separation even without perpetual payments to Santa Monica. What the timeline and cost is has yet to be determined.
This story has been revised to reflect corrected information and include additional quotes from school board officials.
Look for an updated version of this story in the June 8 version of The Malibu Times’ print edition.