Who we are
Over 50 years, ago Malibu was forced into the Santa Monica School District by state and county officials that felt the two communities were better as one. What was once a valuable partnership now no longer exists. Both communities have grown apart geographically and culturally. We are now two different communities, with different priorities but sharing one common goal - a great education for our kids.
These differences do not mean we should not work to help all children across the entire school district. We support the School Board as they tackle the enormous issues that affect the roughly 80% of children that are in the district who are in Santa Monica – issues that are very different from the fewer than 20% of children in the district that are from Malibu. Separate districts will not only mean a better education for all children in Malibu, but also in Santa Monica.
It’s Time to Make Malibu Schools the Best They Can Be
AMPS (Advocates for Malibu Public Schools), along with the Malibu City Council and hundreds of residents, are working towards independence for our schools. Together, we need to educate our neighbors, friends and fellow parents about the benefits of an independent Malibu Unified School District.
The future MUSD (Malibu Unified School District) will become a nationwide leader in education, at the forefront in educational innovation, technology, and student focus. With an independent district, we will have the flexibility to offer the most advanced educational programs anywhere in the state, with access to enhanced English, Science, Math and Arts education. We will have the ability to take each elementary school and create specialized centers of learning excellence, with best practices that allow for language studies, technology in the classroom, and innovative teaching processes. Our middle and high schools can become a hub for advanced learning, forming relationships with local and out of state colleges, building a competitive sports and arts program all with increased community involvement. These are just some of the exciting changes that might come with an independent district.
To support its purpose, AMPS will:
Collect, analyze, and act on ideas to improve Malibu public schools.
Provide a repository of knowledge for the community, including the central gathering of information on Malibu school activities, SMMUSD, and educational developments broadly.
Explore and highlight educational best practices, identifying practices of interest and relevance to the community and its schools.
Provide an organizing presence for community-wide efforts on behalf of our schools, including the broader community.
You should know…
The district board of education is Santa Monica centric. Malibu voters are outnumbered. There is currently only one board member from Malibu on the school board.
Santa Monica and Malibu already operate separately. The District has separate educational tracks for each community along with separate service clubs, youth sports leagues, city government, emergency responders, etc.
Reorganization will not change the racial and ethnic distribution in schools. Attendance boundaries will not change. A 2% shift in the racial balance in Santa Monica schools will not substantially change the demographics of the district.
The percentage of low socio-economic, English language learners, foster, and homeless students in each community would not change under separation.
Per pupil funding is expected to increase for Santa Monica and Malibu if they separate. There is very little adverse financial impact by separating Malibu from SM-MUSD.
SM-MUSD receives about $50 million in Other Local Funding each year beyond state education funding and property tax sources. That makes up almost 35% of the General Fund Budget. Santa Monica will be able to retain most of these funds in separation.
Malibu pays in 1/3 of the $90 million property tax revenue into the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District budget, but only has 14% of the students. That’s not fair or equitable.
SM-MUSD currently ranks 3rd in LA County for per pupil funding behind only Beverly Hills and Acton-Agua Dulce. After reorganization, Malibu USD would still rank 3rd and Santa Monica USD would rank 4th.
As a safety net, Malibu has offered a ten-year tax sharing plan to protect Santa Monica if there is any chance it will slip below its current per pupil funding level.
Consistently, Malibu students are shortchanged and disadvantaged. Santa Monica has more foreign language and elementary music teachers, and the AVID, Dual Immersion, Young Collegians Programs are not offered in Malibu, for example.
In emergencies like fires, mudslides, road closures, power outages and earthquakes SM-MUSD cannot respond quickly enough to coordinate local support and direction for Malibu schools. When PCBs were discovered in Malibu facilities, it took a lawsuit to get the SM-MUSD board to act.
It is very inconvenient for Malibu students, parents, and staff to do business with the district office. It is a 45-minute, 20-mile drive down crowded PCH to get from Malibu High to the SM-MUSD headquarters.
The SM-MUSD could never be formed under current laws. The state requires school districts to represent contiguous areas. Malibu and Santa Monica aren’t geographically connected. You have to leapfrog parts of LA Unified to get from one city to the other.