The City of Malibu has moved one step closer in its bid to separate its public schools from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District.
“Malibu has been fighting for an independent school district for the benefit of our students, families and our community for years, and we are not giving up now,” said Mayor Mikke Pierson.
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, the City of Malibu presented its petition to create an independent Malibu Unified School District to the Los Angeles County Office of Education‘s County Committee on School District Organization (County Committee) at a preliminary public hearing. The video of the meeting is available to view online.
Hundreds of Malibu residents, educators, students and parents shared their views with the Committee in support of an independent Malibu Unified School District. Notably, virtually no one testified that Malibu should not have its own school district. Even the presenters from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SM-MUSD) suggested that the parties continue to negotiate how best to accomplish school separation. The only question is how to separate in a way that is fair and equitable for both jurisdictions and won’t harm any students in the process.
This remains a contentious issue and the City has been working hard to dispel misinformation about the true impacts of separating from SM-MUSD.
After several hours of testimony from both the City and School District, the Committee ultimately decided to continue the hearing to early June. In the meantime, the City team will continue to communicate Malibu's position to residents of both Malibu and Santa Monica.
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For more information, visit the School Separation webpage.