Cabrillo Kids to Dume – SMMUSD Hires Malibu Minder – Parcel Tax Hiked 3.6 Percent
Written by 991KBU on May 4, 2018
Four momentous decisions out of the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District late last night.
And … a tax hike.
First … the school district approved closing Juan Cabrillo Elementary school and folding those students in at Point Dume … not this coming school year but in 2019.
Cabrillo’s current principal … Pam Herkner … will head both schools beginning this summer.
Superintendent Ben Drati said last night he wants to wait one year before merging the schools … to give employees and parents time to get ready.
NEWSCART 77545 CABRILLO DRATI :16 QQQ DURING THE YEAR.
“So that way it’s not anxiety-filled, as much as possible.
“Anytime you’re doing a change like this… it’s a massive change, it’s not something I can take lightly.
“I think… we need to be prudent in addressing whatever we can address … during the year.”
Parents who spoke on the realignment were enthusiastic. Like Rory Kennedy.
NEWSCART 77546 REALIGN KENNEDY
“I am so grateful to Dr. Drati and to the board for coming up with this proposal and i think there is really an overwhelming amount of support in the community.
“I’ve been now to a number of he presentations that you all have done, and there have been hundreds of people in these rooms, and there has been an occasional little voice of dissention, but there is an overwhelming amount of excitement and enthusiasm.”
Again … the realignment … closure of Cabrillo Elementary and transfer of 200 students to Poiint Dume … will happen at the start of the 2019-2020 school year.
Item two …
The school board suspended further work to seal up P C B in older buildings at Malibu High School.
This district staff says this will not expose students or employees to PCB … a suspected cancer causing chemical.
The end of remediation will not cause the disrict to violate a federal court order … as district staff say those terms have already been met.
But it will mean that areas with PCB contamination in the floors and walls … will not be repaired … because the district now hoipes a bind issue will allow them to tear down those buildings.
That … of course … depends on whether a bond issue will pass.
A polling expert told the board last night that a Malibu school bond has enough electorate support out here … if taxpayers can be assured that the money would be spent locally and not end up in Santa Monica or even worse … Sacramento.
Along those lines … Item three:
The school board approved the concept of a separate Malibu subdistrict for school bond purposes …
ThIs would be a separate section of the Santa Monica Malibu school district … for Malibu residents to vote tax ourselves to rebuild schools without paying overhead to Santa Monica.
THIS STORY WAS CORRECTED AT 12:53 PM TO GET BURGESS’ NAME CORRECT.
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Item four:
The school superintendent has appointed a “pathway director” for the four Malibu schools…. call him a Malibu minder.
Superintendent Ben Drati has picked Isaac Burgess … currently an assistant principal at Santa Monica High … to set up shop in Malibu.
What is a pathway director???
Not an assistant superintendent.
An administrator … based in Malibu … who will report to Superintendent Dr. Ben Drati and will be solely focused on the needs and concerns regarding the district’s four Malibu schools.
Superintendent Ben Drati says … think eyes … ears … and mouth.
NEWSCART 77544 DRATI SUPER
“This position to me … allows that,
“I think having somebody placed here that represents the dist office, my office … all the district level offices in addressing the needs here in Malibu, and possibly answering questions or clarifying information.”
The school superintendent says he has spent 15 months listening … and now it’s time to make some changes … voice some opinions.
Isaac Burgess … the new pathway director in Malibu … comes here with an enthusiastic endorsement from the only Malibu board member … Craig Foster.
Before joining Santa Monica High … he was principal at Morningside High School in Inglewood … where he got high marks guiding a school in a troubled district.
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And …
The school board voted to hike the parcel tax … 3.6 percent … to match the consumer price index of inflation.
Every parcel in Malibu and Santa Monica pays the parcel tax … except for parcels of land owned by people 55 and older … who have filed for an exemption.
The tax was 396 dollars this year.
It goes up to 410 dollars next year.
