SMMUSD Board May Lay Off 45 Teachers, As MHS Teachers Object To Any Ban On Kids From Over the hill
Written by 991KBU on February 18, 2020
Teacher layoff notices may go out in the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District.
And every teacher at Malibu Middle School and Malibu High School has signed an open letter to the school district … criticizing plans to end open enrollment in Malibu for kids who live over the hill.
The school board will meet Thursday night in Santa Monica … and it will consider sending out layoff notices to the equivalent of nearly 45 teachers.
Not all the teachers will be let go … but state law requires the school board to notify anyone who may be affected.
Like all school districts in California … state funding is a big question mark for the local schools.
Complicating the problem here is that the district has lost funding that used to be handed out based on the number of students. enrolled.
Instead … Sacramento is now sending out funding based on local property tax revenues only.
The school superintendent … looking at a sea of red ink … proposes to limit enrollment to taxpaying families in the Santa Monica Malibu district only.
The state no longer gives the district money on a per-student basis .
The Malibu teachers say eliminating the outside students would cut enrollment by 14 percent … a devastating loss that would put the viability of Malibu schools in serious jeopardy.
The teachers point out that many of the outside kids are from places that were affected by the fire.
A KBUU reporter reads from the letter:
NEWSCART
“After such a devastating natural disaster from which we are
still reeling, it seems unthinkable that we would revoke permits from families who
live in Seminole Springs, Yerba Buena, Topanga, County Line, Malibou Lake,
Upper Latigo, Deer Creek, Castellamare, and Monte Nido.
Grandfathering in current students is not good enough for the longevity of our schools and communities.
“All extra-curricular activities, including sports and all art programs, will be
decimated.”
An excerpt from the letter signed by all the teachers at Malibu Middle and High schools … as voiced by a KBUU reporter.
The teachers are recommending that the district find money by ending spending in three areas:
- freezing administrative staff,
- ending most professional development classes , and
- eliminating expensive outside consultants , currently working on a program called Innovative Ed that teachers say they can handle themselves.
The teachers’ letter echoes comments coming from parents … who are worried that eliminating 14 percent of the enrollment will make it even more impossible to break off and form a separate Malibu school district.
