Current District Plans Bypass School Bond’s Goals

• Raises Issue of Whether Voter Intent Behind Passage of Measure BB Is Being Ignored

BY MAX TAVES

Last November, voters throughout the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District overwhelmingly approved Measure BB, which promised to improve health, safety and technology at aging district schools by raising $268 million through property taxes.

But preliminary designs presented Saturday at a special Board meeting at Santa Monica High made scant reference to health and safety and only vague references to technology, prompting many board members to ask that future plans pay more attention to voters’ intentions.

“I’m concerned about keeping our plans in line with what voters wanted,” said Board member Kelly Pye, who wanted to see a greater focus on campus security.

According to a recent survey, 47 percent of community members affiliated with district schools do not think that local schools do enough to protect “unwanted people from wandering onto campus.”

Last year, the district hired the architecture firms Concordia, Sidewalk Studio and Harley Ellis Devereaux to create a 20-year master plan that would fulfill its long-term goals such as lowering class sizes, providing after-school childcare and creating schools as community centers. And they hope that those goals for the 12,000-student district will, in part, be funded by Measure BB.

Despite concerns that initial designs did not address Measure BB’s intent, the bond’s fine print might be broad enough to allow large changes with little specific reference to health and safety. The oversight committee for Measure BB, which is appointed by the board, has not yet been formed.

Tim Morneau, an architect with H.E.D., said the plans are not complete, and that final plans will incorporate health, safety and technology concerns.

“We made promises to taxpayers in bringing $268 million to our schools,” said Superintendent Diane Talarico. “We will be accountable to voters who voted for safety and technology. That was part of the Measure BB.”

The designs presented Saturday promised a broad, sweeping architectural vision, culled from six month’s of district-wide surveys and focus groups. Their plans envision the district’s 16 schools as “architectural destinations.”

To that end, they want to pursue joint-use agreements with the Cities of Malibu and Santa Monica and Santa Monica College. At some Santa Monica schools, they hope to buy adjacent land to build new classrooms and extra parking facilities. And at Malibu High, they propose building affordable housing units for school and city staff.

While the recent bond has meant large funding for capital projects, a recent independent audit questions the fiscal health of the district. Last year, the board approved a five percent salary hike for teachers, but overseers now argue that the raise leaves the school without state-mandated reserve fund. There are no indications, however, that these concerns will affect the district’s long-term proposals.

Although Measure BB has allowed the district to imagine large changes, early cost estimates for completing its master plan range from $700 million to over $1 billion, which will have to funded by future bond measures. Board members acknowledged that not every school will see “big changes” in the first phases of the 20 year plan. And the allocation of the district’s new Measure BB funds is expected to become an intense fight.

“I have to manage people’s expectations,” Talarico said. “Not everyone is going to be satisfied. We need to move from a me-plan to a we-plan. There are schools with more needs than others.”

Perhaps in anticipation of a fight, Talarico and the board are organizing tours of the districts 16 schools to assess needs, and they encouraged all community members to participate.

The Malibu Surfside News asked board president and Malibu resident, Kathy Wisnicki, if she thought that Malibu schools would benefit from Measure BB’s funds. She said that all Malibu school sites “need health, safety and technology updates.”

Increasing traffic flow at Malibu schools was a common concern among locals that district designers aim to address. Architects say that their plans for Malibu’s public schools were shaped by meetings with parents, students and staff. Some of those key plans are listed below and organized by school:

Malibu Middle and High School

Designers say they would like to make the school an “architectural destination” by building and enhancing public plazas and open space. They want to “enhance” the school’s amphitheater and landscape and build additional lunch shelters. They also suggested constructing a larger media center though a joint use agreement with the city. To improve traffic flow, they propose building a road that would loop around Cabrillo Elementary through Malibu High.

Juan Cabrillo
Elementary School

Expanding classrooms and building dedicated kindergarten and childcare classrooms was a repeated theme for Cabrillo. Beyond improving landscaping, designers recommend creating dedicated drop-off/ pick-up areas to improve traffic flow.

Webster Elementary School

Fulfilling designers’ visions here might include enhancing the front entrance, building new classrooms, renovating the cafeteria, and adding a music room and multi-purpose space. They also want to create “sustainable” perma-culture and “outdoor living and learning spaces.”

Point Dume Marine Science School

Developing features that expand on the elementary school’s marine biology theme were mentioned, but no details were given. Planners want to build larger windows and allow outdoor access from classrooms. They also want childcare classrooms, a play yard and “sustainable” perma-culture.

The board plans to approve the first phase of the master plan this spring. Parents and students from Point Dume and Webster attended a briefing of the plan on Tuesday. The district will hold a similar meeting for interested stakeholders of Malibu High and Cabrillo Elementary at 12:45 p.m. on March 23. For more information, see the plan’s website at www.ourschoolplan.com.