SM Makes Counteroffer On Malibu Divorce Terms. What Is the Counter? Beats Us

Santa Monica makes a key concession in the battle over allowing Malibu school district independence … as it has opened up two avenues for separation.

But the district’s counter proposal sent to Malibu … for city council action on a tight deadline this week … apparently has no substantive changes.

Last Thursday night …. the school board agreed to make a counter offer to Malibu.

And if that effort failed …. they also offered to let financial consultants from the County Office of Education work on a separation plan … along with the numbers crunchers from both Santa Monica and Malibu. 

Rough estimates are that this year … Malibu taxpayers are sending around 12 million dollars a year to subsidize classrooms in Santa Monica.

Advocates for an independent Malibu district say that money flow will increase to a total of four billion dollars … that’s four billion with a B … over 50 years under the current Santa Monica offer.

Malibu is offering 50 million dollars over 10 years.

After trying all day Friday and Saturday … KBUU got a copy of the district’s counter offer.

It is brief and has few details.

Seven bullet points lay out the Santa Monica plan for allocating property tax and other revenue to the two districts.

It does not appear to make any changes in the demand for significant financial support …. for 50 years … from Malibu taxpayers.

If there are any changes … the Santa Monica letter does not explain what they are.

School superintendent Ben Drati said last weekend … that the district’s 59-page analysis of the proposed plans as crunched by the district’s consultants stood … as the Santa Monica counterproposal

But he also said he as not aware of the district lawyer’s official counterproposal to Malibu.

Confusing?

A district spokeswoman called the weekend’s events head spinning.

So … what are the specifics in the Santa Monica counteroffer ???

Again … this is the letter from the district’s lawyers … the letter that the superintendent said he was unaware of on Saturday.

“The District’s proposal on how to handle the financial aspects of the split.:

• Allocation of state revenues under the LCFF Formula on a per pupil basis.
• Allocation of secured property tax revenues utilizing a proportional allocation of the SMMUSD Property Tax Ratio based on the enrollment in each proposed school district.
• Allocation of redevelopment property tax losses and pass-throughs to the entity serving the redevelopment territory,
• Allocation of federal and other state revenues on the basis of enrollment in each proposed school district.
• Allocation of local revenues with geographical restrictions (e.g.: sales tax, joint use, facility lease revenues) to the entity serving the territory from where such revenues are generated.
• Retention of philanthropic local revenues to the entity which raises such revenues.
• Allocation of other local revenues not directly related to reimbursement of services
  provided to the entity conducting the activities resulting in such revenues.

Apparently hidden in there is some sort of transfer … a subsidy … from Malibu to Santa Monica.

Malibu’s number crunchers are scheduled to give an update on what the SM counterproposal means in a presentation to the city council at 6:30 tonight.

But … and Malibu board member Craig Foster says this is important … the Santa Monica school board has also offered to let financial consultants at L A County work with Santa Monica and Malibu accounting experts … to try to plot a middle financial course.

The Santa Monica letter demands that Malibu’s city council act this week … to call off the Saturday divorce preliminary hearing at the County Office of Education.

Santa Monica’s letter demands that Malibu city council take that action by tonight … but taking action is not on the agenda for tonight’s meeting.

The Malibu city council could also take action at that community forum on Wednesday night … which was originally set up as a strategy session to organize for the Saturday hearing.