Drive to Separate School District Goes Public

• City Council Asked to Endorse Petition Process

BY BILL KOENEKER

The Malibu City Council was asked this week to consider endorsing a petition to determine if the voters support reorganization of the current Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District into the Malibu Unified School District and the Santa Monica School District.
Laura Rosenthal gave the presentation to the council, which indicated it would put the matter on a future agenda.
“We believe that the time has come for the formation of our own district. It is part of the natural progression of our community and city. Right now the decisions that affect Malibu students are made by a seven-member board, with six of them living in Santa Monica. The board is naturally more concerned with Santa Monica issues where they and 80 percent of the students live and go to school. With only 15 percent of the registered voters in the district, we have little hope of affecting school board elections or bond elections,” she told council members.
Malibu school board member Kathy Wisnicki, who is running for city council, would leave the panel if elected.
Rosenthal, a Malibu parent who has been very active in current school district affairs, said the process can take from two to four years. “There is a well laid out process to district reorganization governed by California Education Code and it involves the City of Malibu, the unincorporated areas that are part of our school district, the county Department of Education and the state Department of Education,” stated Rosenthal, who said the first step is in the form of a petition, which says the community of Malibu is interested in exploring the creation of their own school district.
“We believe it must be done. It does not make sense anymore to be in this district,” said Rosenthal, who noted that the petition must contain 25 percent of the signatures of registered voters in the Malibu portion of the school district. That includes unincorporated areas, such as Sunset Mesa, Decker Canyon and other out-lying areas.
This triggers the next step, in which the county will conduct public hearings and commission a detailed feasibility study to determine if a Malibu Unified School District is viable based on a detailed analysis of nine criteria.
Rosenthal said she and others believe that many of those criteria are now met by the Malibu schools, such as an adequate number of students and substantial community identification. The the separation must include an equitable division of property. “We keep what falls in Malibu. The four schools plus the land,” she added.
Rosenthal insisted she thought Malibu would now meet the criteria for racial equity.
Other criteria demand that the separation won’t disrupt performance nor increase costs or increase property taxes.
She said what is very important is a fiscal analysis of both districts must be undertaken. “The county committee recommends approval or disapproval. And must send it to the state Board of Education, regardless of their vote. The county committee may approve the proposal if all of the conditions are substantially met, or they may approve it if the committee determines the circumstances provide an exceptional situation sufficient to justify approval. The county committee must send it to the state board of education within 210 days of receiving the petition. Once it reaches the state level there are no timelines,” she added.
Then a California Environmental Quality Act analysis is done and more public meetings are held and if the state approves the request, then it is a matter of calling for an election.
If the state approves the proposal, they will set an election date and determine who will participate in the election process, just the Malibu part of the district or Malibu and Santa Monica. A board of education would be elected at the same time as the vote on the district.
Rosenthal said the parcel taxes in place at the time would stay for the “old” district but would not be in place for a Malibu district. The new district could set its own election for a parcel tax.
A steering committee calling itself MUST, Malibu Unified School Team is spearheading the current drive, according to Rosenthal, who told council members the push has been greeted with enthusiasm by other Malibu parents.