MSN_101118

4 | October 11, 2018 | Malibu surfside news news
malibusurfsidenews.com
‘It’s a big movement’
Malibu PTAs
endorse Measure M
ballot initiative
Lauren Coughlin, Editor
Malibu residents should
expect to hear more about
Malibu’s Measure M bond
as the Nov. 6 election nears.
Last month, at a Sept.
28 meeting of the Malibu
Schools Leadership Council,
each of Malibu’s four
Parent Teacher Associations
threw their support behind
the measure — which asks
Malibu voters to consider
the issuance of general obligation
bonds with a maximum
principal amount of
$195 million — after meeting
with their respective executive
boards. In the coming
weeks, supporters are
to continue their outreach
efforts, with plans including
neighborhood walks, phone
banks, mailers and emails to
Malibu voters.
“It’s a big movement,”
said Alex Aspron-Ladesich,
the Parent Teacher Student
Association president for
Malibu High.
Leading the campaign
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committee (officially named
the Residents for Safe, Excellent
Malibu Schools
Committee) are co-chairwomen
Caren Leib and
Stacy Rouse.
“I think it’s critical to
have great schools and ours
are so old and rundown —
they’re awful,” Leib said
in a Friday, Oct. 5 phone
interview with the Surfside.
“They’re embarrassing to
be honest, and I don’t think
we have a choice.”
The bond money would
be used for construction,
reconstruction and replacement
of school facilities.
Leib said her support isn’t
for her own children — her
daughter, Sydney, graduated
from Malibu High School in
2018, and her son, Brady, is
a MHS sophomore — but
for the future generations.
Further, she said, improvements
at the public schools
may lessen the number of
parents who send their children
to private schools.
Aspron-Ladesich said
support among SMMUSD
parents has been strong.
“Basically, the support
is 100 percent from [SM-
MUSD] parents,” said
McDermott
Aspron-Ladesich, who has
two children in Malibu
schools (Lucas Ladesich,
a freshman, and Nicholas
Ladesich, a sixth-grader).
“There’s a little bit of a concern
of Malibu residents that
have no children at school
or [those whose] children
have already left the Malibu
schools.”
Advocates have heard
concerns from some regarding
property tax increases,
how long it will take for improvements
to be done and
who will make the decisions
on what work is completed.
As for the latter, Leib,
who also chairs the Malibu
Facilities District Advisory
Committee, said suggestions
made to the SM-
MUSD Board of Education
will come from the FDAC
based on needs. Leib also
expects construction to happen
quickly if and when the
bond measure is approved.
On Aug. 29, the Santa
Monica-Malibu Unified
School District Board of
Education reviewed plans
for 21st century learning
improvements district-wide.
Please see measure, 9
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SMMUSD Board of Education
Various Malibu projects gain traction
Technology
upgrades, Point
Dume design
services discussed
Michele Willer-Allred
Freelance Reporter
More improvements are
expected soon at Malibu
schools due to several
contract amendments approved
at the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School
District Board of Education
meeting Thursday,
Oct. 4, at Malibu City Hall.
A new administration
building at Malibu High
School is to receive a campus
fiber infrastructure
upgrade and a technology
refresh.
The Board of Education
unanimously approved a
contract amendment with
HMC Architects to include
additional architectural
and engineering design
services related to the upgrade
to the fiber network
and a refresh of the technology
so that they both
reflect the latest district
standards.
The contract amendment
amount of $42,830
is now included in the total
$9.5 million, which is
being used for improvements
throughout Malibu
schools.
The total contract is
funded by Measure BB, a
$268 million bond passed
by Santa Monica and Malibu
voters in 2006.
This bond money has
been utilized to upgrade
technology throughout the
district, increase safety
and security through fire
alarm upgrades and gate
Weighing in
What: The public comment period for the Point
Dume campus plans remains open through 5 p.m.
Thursday, Oct. 18.
Where: Documents related to the campus plans
are available for public review at the district’s office
(1651 16th St., Santa Monica); at Point Dume
Marine Science School (6955 Fernhill Drive, Malibu);
and on the district’s website at http://fip.smmusd.
org/sites-point-dume.html.
How: Written comments must include a name,
address, and contact information of the sender, and
must be directed to Carey Upton, Chief Operations
Officer, at the district office or via email at cupton@
smmusd.org.
access improvements, and
to modernize and build
new facilities at multiple
campuses.
The board also approved
a contract amendment of
$118,327 with dsk Architects
to provide architectural
and engineering
design services for the
Malibu school realignment
project at Point Dume Marine
Science School.
The contract with dsk
Architects totals $1.26
million, with funding from
Measure ES, a $385 million
bond passed by voters
in 2012.
As part of the amendment,
school staff has
requested that the architectural
firm review the
existing on-site wastewater
system at the Point
Dume campus. They also
will prepare designs for an
underground wastewater
treatment plant to support
the addition of portables
and a future permanent
build-out at the school.
The Point Dume Marine
Science School campus
also is the subject of a
Malibu Schools Alignment
Project review, with the
SMMUSD currently accepting
written comments
regarding short-and longterm
plans for the campus.
Copies of the mitigated
negative declaration and
supporting documents addressing
the Point Dume
campus plans are available
for public review at
the district’s office (1651
16th St., Santa Monica);
at Point Dume Marine Science
School (6955 Fernhill
Drive, Malibu); and on the
district’s website at http://
fip.smmusd.org/sitespoint-dume.html.
Written comments must
include a name, address,
and contact information
of the sender, and must be
directed to Carey Upton,
Chief Operations Officer,
at the district office or via
email at cupton@smmusd.
org.
Following the end of
the public review period,
a School Board meeting to
consider the project will be
held at 5:30 p.m. Nov. 1,
at the Santa Monica-Malibu
Unified School District
Board Room in Santa
Monica.