Pursuing a feasibility analysis of what is involved in the secession of Malibu from the SMMUSD school dis- trict is a long overdue opportunity to pierce the veil of secrecy that surrounds the district’s bureaucratic pro- cesses. Even if it turns out that a separate Malibu school district might not be viable in this era of fiscal uncertain- ty, governmental obfuscation, and the labyrinth of state and federal regulations that take much education policy- making out of local hands, the information will be in- valuable to Malibu, as well as Santa Monica.
Few governing entities appear to be as public phobic and media averse as the SMMUSD. Basic data is virtu- ally impossible to obtain. Need numbers? “How many Malibu students go to Samohi?—Our computer system can’t do that.” “How much Title One and other funding goes to which school?—That’s too difficult to break down.” “Can I get a copy of these statistics?—We’ll try to get it done in a few weeks,” etc.
At the newspaper office, we have a running joke that new SMMUSD superintendents—or at least the last three—were required to solemnly pledge not to discuss anything with the media that is the least bit negative or might reflect adversely on the system. Leave them a message or send an email about a major public concern and no response will be forthcoming. The district thinks that cheerleaders should do education news reporting.
Going the county petition route may finally mean that financial data for the individual schools and the district, as a whole, will become available. It is impossible to understand current district policy without this, let alone consider a major move such as forming a separate Mali- bu district. Only then can the prevailing mythology— “Malibu doesn’t get its fair share;” “Title One dollars are as much, or more, than private donations;” and “Well-heeled parents don’t mean better students,” etc.— be proved or disproved.
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Advocates for Malibu Public Schools 