Petition to Explore Separate School District Supported by Malibu City Council

BY BILL KOENEKER

With little discussion, the Malibu City Council this week unanimously gave its endorsement for a petition to determine if the voters support reorganization of the current Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District into separate Malibu and Santa Monica school districts.
Malibu parent and education activist Laura Rosenthal had made the request on behalf of a contingent of local parents who are interested in exploring the creation of a separate district.
Mayor Jeff Jennings said he had some problems with some of the language that seemed to take an advocacy position in the resolution.
However, City Attorney Christi Hogin said she had crafted the language and apologized if it stepped over the line. “Just strike it,” she advised council members.
Doing so, the council voted on the matter which could take up to two to four years.
The petition, which must contain 25 percent of the signatures of registered voters in the Malibu portion of the school district, is the first step in a lengthy process that involves the county Department of Education making a recommendation.
The county will conduct public hearings and commission a detailed study to detail the feasibility of a Malibu school district.
The matter is subsequently sent to the state Board of Education, which conducts a California Environmental Quality Act analysis and if the board approves the request, then an election is called for.