SPECIAL VIRTUAL CITY COUNCIL STUDY SESSION ON SCHOOL DISTRICT PROPERTY TAX FUNDING MAY 19
As part of the community’s ongoing effort to form an independent Malibu Unified School District, the Malibu City Council will hold a special meeting on Wednesday, May 19, 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM to conduct a virtual study session on school district property tax funding. The study session will include a presentation on property tax funding allocated to school districts and an opportunity for community members to ask questions and learn more about how schools are funded.
“The Malibu community has been advocating for the formation of a locally controlled Malibu Unified School District for decades. The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, the City of Santa Monica, Malibu City Council and most everyone involved believes separation is a good idea. At this point, the only issue remaining is money,” said Mayor Paul Grisanti. “The May 19 Study Session is an opportunity for everyone to learn more about how schools are funded throughout California and understand the financial terms of separation that are being proposed. I encourage everyone to attend the virtual meeting.”
The virtual meeting will be held via zoom on Wednesday, May 19 from 6:00 PM to 8:00 PM. Members of the public are encouraged to join the study session to get better informed on school property tax funding, gain a better understanding of the financial terms of separation being considered and have their questions answered.
On Saturday, April 17, 2021, the City of Malibu presented its petition to create an independent Malibu Unified School District (MUSD) to the Los Angeles County Office of Education‘s County Committee on School District Organization (County Committee) at a preliminary public hearing. Hundreds of Malibu residents, educators, students and parents shared their views with the Committee in support of an independent MUSD. Notably, virtually no one testified that Malibu should not have its own school district. Even the presenters from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SM-MUSD) suggested that the parties continue to negotiate how best to accomplish school separation. The only question is how to separate in a way that is fair and equitable for both jurisdictions and won’t harm any students in the process. The April 17 Preliminary Hearing was continued to a date to be determined in June 2021.
The City remains committed to forming an independent MUSD and preventing any more Malibu students from being harmed and is preparing to further support its petition before the LACOE County Committee in June once the date is determined.
The May 19 study session will review the way property taxes are currently used to fund school districts throughout the state, how that is implemented locally, and the financial impacts of separating from SM-MUSD.
Information on how community members can participate in the meeting will be available on the City’s website at MalibuCity.org/VirtualMeeting. For more information on the local efforts to form an independent MUSD including video of the April 17 Preliminary Hearing, visit the project page on the City of Malibu’s website at MalibuCity.org/MUSD.