The Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is opposing the City of Malibu’s unification petition. The two sides that agreed in principle to separate into two school districts entered into a mediation process in 2022. The City of Malibu placed its unification petition with the county on hold while mediation was underway. The City however opted to pursue its petition once again when mediation stalled repeatedly. The 2017 petition which underwent several public hearings in both communities was found insufficient by the county.
SMMUSD issued a statement July 18 stating: “After two years of collaborative work through the mediation process, SMMUSD and the City of Malibu agreed upon a general timeline for completion of the unification process with each entity voting on the entire unification package by the end of October. By this time, community members in Santa Monica and Malibu would have had adequate time to review the three agreements that form the basis for a viable unification process: a revenue sharing agreement, an operations transfer agreement, and a joint powers agreement. However, the District was informed that the City no longer is honoring this mutually agreed upon timeline and instead is seeking a vote on the 2017 petition it previously submitted. As the petition does not meet at least seven of the nine criteria needed for unification and would impose devastating hardships upon students in the Santa Monica area, the District has no choice but to oppose this petition vehemently.”
SMMUSD Board of Education Vice President and unification sub-committee member Jon Kean shared, “after years of work we were less than three months away from forming two independent school districts that could provide similar programs to what exists today on day one of operation. More work was needed to finalize the agreements but to walk away from a potential solution that meets the core tenets of our mediation and long held goals is the City’s choice and it is unconscionable. In three months we could have achieved what community members have sought for decades.”
SMMUSD attorney David Soldani said of Malibu in the statement: “Going back to a fatally flawed 2017 petition is a baffling decision and the District has no choice but to fight the City of Malibu’s attempt to disenfranchise SMMUSD students residing in Santa Monica.”
Malibu City Councilmember who serves on the School Separation Ad Hoc Committee Paul Grisanti said, “Our pursuit of an independent school district is about empowering our community to take charge of our educational future. We believe that local control will lead to more responsive and effective educational policies that directly benefit our students.”