After 8-2 Vote In Favor Of Malibu School District, Both Sides Might Be Closer To Agreement Than They Thought

A county committee Saturday refused a Santa Monica request to kill an independent Malibu school district, but afterward, officials in both cities embraced a potential settlement.

The LA County Office of Education’s special committee voted 8-2 to have its staff examine the issue further, after rejecting an effort by the lone committee member from Santa Monica to just kill the entire subject now.  The county staff will now study finances, fairness and appropriateness of splitting the two distant cities’ common school district.

But in a surprising wrinkle, after the vote, both sides told KBUU News that they would accept a divorce under terms that the Santa Monica side proposed three years ago.

The Saturday hearing was fast, and complicated.  Both sides disparaged the other, Malibu went first.  About 40 speakers given one minute each.  

NEWSCART 73776 JO DRUMMOND

“As a Malibu parent who supports the separation, I’m deeply offended by the selfish and gluttonous attitude of Santa Monica representatives, who do not care about Malibu families who suffer under such an unfair, unjust and hostile school system.”

And Malibu High student leader Monica Reynaldo.

NEWSCART 73768 MONICA REYNALDO

“The difference between Malibu and Santa Monica are alarmingly apparent. In addition to having fewer educational opportunities, Malibu students are constantly reminded that we are not a priority to the Santa Monica school district.”

Even Santa Monica city councilman Oscar de la Torre chimed in on behalf of Malibu separation.

NEWSCART 73775 DE LA TORRE

“I can tell you that the problems that the residents of Malibu face are real. The lack of representation, the lack of respect. You know, I’ve seen it with the PCB fight, I’ve seen it with comments made by school board members in Santa Monica.”

Then came the Santa Monica contingent, which painted Malibu as elitist, racist, exclusionary.

NEWSCART 73774 SM STUDENT

“Hi, my name is Antionelle Borjas [SPELLED PHONETICALLY]. I am a current senior at Santa Monica high school and a local activist. I want the committee to know that Santa Monica students are afraid of the consequences if Malibu‘s petition succeeds, especially underserved students. Students understand that this proposal is financially unfair and socially unjust.”

And members of the Santa Monica Malibu school board spoke sharply against Malibu.  Board member Jennifer Smith, appointed to represent both Santa Monica and Malibu, not only slammed Malibu, but made a statement that was contradicted by the county.

NEWSCART 73773 JENNIFER SMITH

“It never entered my mind that a staff that advises on matters of education import would have recommended a petition that fails on eight out of nine criteria would be elevated for a more extensive review.”

The county study, however, did not pass judgment on whether the Malibu petition passed the nine conditions set by state law. 

So far … the preliminary report found a lack of information on 8 of those 9 criteria.

Committee member Susan Solomon said those facts need to be determined, and Malibu deserves to have a decision based on meeting or failing to meet those nine criteria.

NEWSCART 73778 SUSAN SOLOMON

“Even though they’re not substantially met, based on what you’ve written, it basically says that they’re inconclusive because that there’s not enough information.”

That is precisely the argument that Malibu made, and eventually won on.

Discussion by the committee members was cut short when one committee member, Barry Snell, made a sudden motion to just chuck it all out, and kill Malibu’s independence drive then and there.  Snell said Malibu started this petition drive in 2015, and should have reached an agreement with Santa Monica. 

NEWSCART 73779 BARRY SNELL DENY

“Based on the time frame that they have had to negotiate this petition, that there would have been more information in relation to these nine criteria,” Snell said.

“I would like to make a motion to deny the petition, and ask the individuals on both sides to go back to the table, to negotiate this and give us a pathway to be able to ultimately see these two districts come up with plausible economical and equitable decisions.”

That motion failed … 8 to 2.

It should be noted that Barry Snell is the only member of that county committee who gets voted on by Malibu voters.  That’s because he is a member of the Santa Monica College board … which includes Malibu. 

His effort to kill the Malibu drive would likely play well amongst the Santa Monica constituents, who far outweigh the numbers of Malibu electors.  And that numeric difference is the very heart of the issue to Malibu.

Malibu won a victory on Saturday, said Karen Farrer, the city council member who has been working on this for decades.

The two sides are acrimoniously talking past each other.  And even if Malibu succeeds in its independence drive … it will take years for the bureaucracy at the state Department of Education to process it.

And that means the two cities will have to live with each other, even though Malibu’s only school board member — Craig Foster  — testified that this is a house bitterly divided …

NEWSCART 73777 CH FOSTER

“If two people go to divorce court and the court denies them a divorce, they don’t just go home and live happily ever after.”

And that points to a big problem, both sides said. Even if Malibu gets what it wants, it will take county bureaucrats and then the state Office of Education three years to six years to process the independence petition.

School board president Jon Kean agrees with a reporters’ assessment, that both sides have demonstrated acrimony and nastiness to each other. He says we will have to work with each other in the meantime.

NEWSCART 73772 KEAN

“There is vitriol on both sides and I appreciate you saying that. Because it brings to what I have realized, that we’re never going to realize who did what to which first. And if we go down that pathway, all we do is inflame and inflame and inflame, and it becomes this binary path of politics that we’re stuck on now where are you either agree with me or you are an idiot.”

And that brings us back to this issue … that Malibu and Santa Monica may be very close to an agreement.

Assistant city attorney Christine Wood .. after the meeting … told KBUU News that Santa Monica has been negotiating in bad faith.

She says Malibu actually accepted Santa Monica’s 2018 offer … in essence … with only a few contingencies asked in return.   That does not mean the Santa Monica offer is still acceptable to Malibu now … she said Monday. 

On Monday morning, KBUU News broadcast a quote from the Malibu attorney … saying that the city had accepted the Santa Monica offer in 2018.  Although that was an accurate quote from the lawyer … Christine Wood says the city actually made that acceptance conditional on a few contingencies.

Wood had said there were contingencies that Malibu preferred … and that she had intended to use that only as an example of Santa Monica’s bad faith, not an indication that a deal was so close.

NEWSCART 737XX WOOD WALKBACK

“Your original question was whether or not the door was still open to negotiate, and the city has always maintained that the door is open to negotiating.

“Except … the city has requested and School Services has recommended that the parties negotiate through third party arbitration.

“It’s important for the city that we do this because we felt like in the past that the district does not negotiate in good faith, and the city requires that the School District have something at stake in the negotiations as well.”

On Sunday … school board president Kean said he would drive to Malibu today to ink that deal.

On Monday … he said that despite the city’s Monday morning walkback … Malibu and Santa Monica are very, very close.

Of course … the devil is in the details, and some of those details are substantial, as the county pointed out Saturday.

For example … county negotiators brought up the old Measure BB and E bond issues from two decades ago.  They paid to build a new campus at Santa Monica high school, but left Malibu High substantially unfinished.

And if there’s a division of the two districts, Santa Monica would own the fancy Samohi buildings, which were underwritten with promises backed by Malibu tax revenue.  So, but who owns the debt??

Those buildings were paid for with school bonds that were substantially backed by Malibu taxpayers. By some estimates, $90 million in Malibu tax dollars was committed to pay off the bonds, which primarily benefitted Santa Monica school campuses.

Malibu High was left unfinished, with Malibu now in its own sub-district to tax itself to finish the job,

The County may have to come up with a way to divide that property and debt, officials said Saturday.  That is one of many details that would have to be dealt with, even if the city and City of Malibu and Santa Monica school board members agree to the 2018 proposal from Santa Monica.

Back at the county divorce court, the Saturday vote means another public hearing this fall, and then another study – this time on those financial details

And we will have more on that … tomorrow.