(UPDATE: On Wednesday, April 3, LACOE's Committee on School District Organization voted 6 to 5 to deny Malibu's petition.)
By Jorge Casuso
April 1, 2025 -- Malibu's proposal to separate from the School District has likely been dealt a fatal blow eight years after it was first submitted to the LA County Office of Education (LACOE).
A feasibility study -- which will be discussed at a meeting of LACOE's Committee on School District Organization Wednesday -- found that Malibu's 2017 petition failed to "substantially" meet eight of nine criteria needed.
In addition, the proposal would negatively impact the remaining Santa Monica Unified School District’s programs and raises "significant questions" about the "financial solvency of the district," School District officials said Tuesday.
The Feasibility Study prepared by LACOE's Division of Business Advisory Services comes nearly nine months after Malibu unexpectedly revived its petition to split from the district and halted negotiations that had begun two years earlier ("School District Separation Plan Breaks Down," July 19, 2024).
The petition, District officials said at the time, "would impose devastating hardships upon students in the Santa Monica area," giving the District "no choice but to oppose this petition vehemently."
The feasibility study, which echoes many of the District's concerns, met only one of the nine criteria for separation -- it "is not primarily designed to substantially increase property values" in Malibu.
The proposal failed to meet the other eight criteria, which require that the petitioner show the separation will:
- Be "able to maintain, enrollment of at least 1,501 students in the new Malibu District."
- Result in the "equitable division of assets and liabilities," since "significant questions have been raised about the financial solvency" of the SMMUSD."
- Not promote ethnic discrimination or segregation, since "there would likely be dramatic shifts in racial/ethnic demographics of enrolled students."
- Not substantially increase cost to the state, since "reorganization is likely to impact state funding significantly in terms of current and potential new buildings and other fiscal obligations."
- Not significantly disrupt educational programs in either district, since the proposed Malibu USD would have "significantly smaller enrollment." making it unclear it "can field an equivalent educational program."
- Not result in "a significant increase in school housing costs," since reorganization "would likely impact school housing costs substantially in terms of new school and administrative facilities needed."
- "Not affect the fiscal management or status of the affected districts," since reorganization "is likely to lead to a significant impact to the fiscal management of both" districts.
- Be needed to maintain "community identity," since the Malibu area "has sent students to Santa Monica area schools for more than 100 years."
If the County Committee votes to recommend denial of Malibu's petition, as staff recommends, the decision can be appealed to the State Board of Education (SBE) by the impacted parties, according to District officials.
If the Committee should vote to recommend approval, "the petition will still need to be submitted for review by the SBE, since unification is a SBE action," District officials said.
"This report mirrors concerns repeatedly expressed by the SMMUSD Board of Education, which has committed countless hours and resources in a mediation process seeking to achieve unification based on principles of fairness and equity," District officials said.
"This is a complex issue that requires time and thoughtfulness and cannot be rushed. The SMMUSD school board continues to take this seriously with the best interests of all students in mind."
District separation has long been an issue in Malibu and came to a head in 2004 when the School District revised its gift policy to require that 15 percent of private donations be contributed to a districtwide fund, restricting parents from donating to specific schools.
In November 2011, the Malibu City Council voted to set the gears in motion to secede from the School District, and in December 2015, the board agreed on the separation, although in general terms.
A decade later, in September 2021, the County Committee on School District Organization voted to move Malibu's proposal forward despite opposition from the School District and the City of Santa Monica.
District and City officials argued that the separation would create an overwhelmingly white Malibu District and financially harm a stand-alone Santa Monica District.
Last April, School District and Malibu officials reached a revenue sharing arrangement that marked a "significant milestone" before Malibu's decision to revive its 2017 petition last July.
The County Committee meeting will take place Wednesday, April 2, at 9:30 a.m. in person or via Zoom. For the meeting agenda and other information click here.
