March 19, 2024 Breaking News, Latest News, and Videos

An Open Letter To The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board Of Education:

Dear Editor,

As members of the Malibu community, we are greatly troubled by the manner in which district officials have publicly addressed the enrollment decline in Malibu schools, characterizing the problem as “demographic.”

The fact that the District would address our current enrollment decline simply as a demographic phenomenon only reinforces in the minds of those who live here that the District is deaf as to what is taking place on in Malibu and clueless as to what should be done.

It is a well-known fact in Malibu that a large number of Malibu’s families have either decided not to enroll or withdrawn their children from our public schools as a direct and specific response to the district’s takeover of fundraising as well as the PCB controversy.

Further, we are stunned to hear that the district’s proposed response to the enrollment decline is to advertise to get families who live outside Malibu to drive their kids to Malibu to fill the empty seats. While we have no objection to students transferring in, we would like to offer the superintendent and school board a much more appropriate and responsible response to the enrollment decline:

“District leadership acknowledges the reasons why Malibu parents are withdrawing their children. Public schools belong to the community; we are their stewards. As we develop and refine our policies and practices, we will work with the Malibu community in an increasingly responsive way so that these families will be excited to enroll their children and support public schools with the same commitment and enthusiasm they showed in the past.”

Historically, Malibu schools have been extraordinarily high achieving, with extremely high levels of volunteerism and local financial support. These resources, along with higher enrollments of local children, will quickly return if the Board hears and empowers us as we work to improve our schools.

Sincerely yours,

Undersigned Members of the Malibu Community

Desi Bradley

Soniya Perl

Lori Keeffe

Candace Kelly

Karen Farrer

Kim Bonewitz

Roui Israel

John Miller

Kasey Earnest

Siugen Constanza

Jennifer DeNicola

Seth Jacobson

Melanie Goudzwaard

Kristina Kell

Shamra Tankersley

Brian Strange

Suzy Forman

Bryan Ingram

in Opinion
Related Posts

SM.a.r.t Column: Can California ARBs Balance Affordable Housing with Community Character in the Face of New Housing Laws?

March 17, 2024

March 17, 2024

By suggestion, I attended the March 4th ARB (Architectural Review Board) meeting that addressed the Gelson Lincoln Boulevard Project.  After...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Need for Safety

March 10, 2024

March 10, 2024

Earlier this week, in the dark pre-dawn hours, a pair of thugs covered in masks and hoodies burst into the...

Film Review: The Oscar Landscape 2024

March 7, 2024

March 7, 2024

FILM REVIEWTHE OSCAR LANDSCAPE 2024A Look at the Choices – Academy Awards – March 10, 2024, at 5:00 p.m. on...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Five Saving Historic Santa Monica

March 3, 2024

March 3, 2024

Our beloved City is surrounded by many threats, from sea level rise to homelessness, to housing affordability, to cancerous overdevelopment,...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Gelson’s Looms Large

February 22, 2024

February 22, 2024

Our guest column this week is by SMCLC (the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City). SMCLC is a well-established...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Top Toady Town

February 18, 2024

February 18, 2024

Throughout history, from the ancient Romans and Assyrians to Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, siege warfare has served as an...

S.M.a.r.t Column: The Sunset of Home Ownership

February 11, 2024

February 11, 2024

We are watching the sunset of our historical and cultural American dream of home ownership as we now are crossing...

SMa.r.t. Column: B(U)Y RIGHT

February 4, 2024

February 4, 2024

“By Right” state housing laws that give developers, in certain projects, the ability to ignore codes ‘by right.’ Well, that...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Serf City

January 28, 2024

January 28, 2024

Homelessness is a problem in California, and nowhere is this more evident than in our fair city, where the unhoused...

S.M.a.r.t  Column: Bond Fatigue

January 22, 2024

January 22, 2024

Last week’s SMart article,  described two critical problems faced by our Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD): the declining...

S.M.a.r.t Column: Peace on Earth

December 27, 2023

December 27, 2023

We are all, by now, saturated with jingles, holiday cards, “ho ho ho’s,” countless commercial advertisements, and exhortations to feel...

S.M.a.r.t Column: On the Clock with Mayor Brock

December 17, 2023

December 17, 2023

I became Santa Monica’s Mayor on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, following a simple “switch of the chairs” transition with outgoing...

S.M.a.r.t Column: SANTA MONICA CITY COUNCIL 2024

December 10, 2023

December 10, 2023

Position:Seeking Santa Monica City Council Candidate(s) Introduction:Exciting opportunity for the right candidate(s) to work with like-minded Council members committed to...

S.M.a.r.t Column: ARB (NOT Ready to Build!)

December 3, 2023

December 3, 2023

Santa Monica City’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), established in 1974, acts “…to preserve existing areas of natural beauty, cultural importance...

SMa.r.t. Column: We are thankful for….

November 27, 2023

November 27, 2023

SMa.r.t. would like to wish you all a great Thanksgiving with friends and family and also to thank its readers...