MALIBU—On July 18, the city of Malibu disclosed that it asked the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE) County Committee on School District Organization (County Committee) to schedule hearings to consider the City’s Petition to form an independent School District from territory within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SM- MUSD).
A petition was filed with the County Committee in 2017 by the city of Malibu, but requested that the County Committee pause the petition process to allow time for mediation with SM-MUSD. The parties were not able to reach common ground.
“We have made every possible effort to work through mediation with SM-MUSD, but unfortunately, we could not find a solution that adequately reflects the interests and aspirations of our community,” said Malibu Mayor Doug Stewart. “Our priority remains to provide our children with the best possible educational environment, tailored to the specific needs of Malibu.”
While the parties reached an agreement on a Revenue Sharing Agreement, the recent mediation sessions did not yield progress on the two remaining agreements: the Operational Agreement and the Joint Powers Authority Agreement.
The city of Malibu noted it is a better use of its resources to return to the County Committee process. By resuming the petition process with the County Committee, Malibu aims to gain greater control over educational resources, curricula, and school management, ensuring that the unique characteristics of the community are effectively addressed
Malibu officials are satisfied that the mediation process was framed by two guiding principles: (1) formation of an independent Malibu Unified School District is in the best interest of all students and (2) that both successor educational entities should be allocated a sufficient share of funding to provide a similar level of service at each school site as prior to separation.
Malibu was preparing for the District to join in its efforts to finalize separation before the County Committee but discovered that the District intends to challenge Malibu’s petition — despite years of agreeing that separation is in the best interest of all students. The city of Malibu is committed to the principles as they move forward with the County Committee process.
“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,” said Councilmember Paul Grisanti.
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) and the city of Malibu entered into a mediation process in 2022 in the hope of achieving a fair and equitable unification, in other words, split into two school districts.
The SMMUSD indicated in news release on July 19 that 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.”
“The District created a timeline to complete unification once and for all in partnership with the City” said SMMUSD Attorney David Soldani. “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.”
“If the City of Malibu tells the County Committee to hold the petition until after November the District would gladly return to mediation and work collaboratively to achieve unification” said Kean. “But we cannot be the only side willing to do this work. Malibu wanted an independent district and the finish line was in sight. Them abandoning a fair and equitable solution now is baffling.”
The Los Angeles County Office of Education Committee on School District Organization has been made aware of this unexpected decision by Malibu and will announce next steps in the petition consideration process.
“We are extremely disappointed that the City has chosen this path that will now inevitably delay this process by many years,” said Kean. “Our hope is that the County Committee honors the agreed upon timeline and delays this petition so we can finish unification once and for all.”
By Trevor