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malibusurfsidenews.com SOUND OFFMALIBU SURFSIDE NEWS | November 11, 2020 | 35CRITICFrom Page 14unification proposal submittedunilaterally by theMalibu City Council ignorestwo years of discussionsand negotiations thathave been grounded in anabiding belief in the possibilityof an equitable separationof our two communitiesto form two schooldistricts. As the guardianof all students in the schooldistrict, Dr. Drati had nochoice but to respond as hedid in his letter. The MalibuCity Council’s petition notonly seeks to severely reducestudent opportunityin Santa Monica where 87percent of the students inthe district attend school,but it also ignores the mannerin which schools havebeen funded in Californiafor more than 40 years.Some important facts toknow about the process todate:1. The negotiating teamswere very close to an agreementwhich would have accomplishedequity for allstudents when the Malibuteam stopped communicatingand ultimately made adecision to re-file its petitionwith the county withoutobserving the commoncourtesy of sharing theirintentions with our superintendent(or any of us).2. There have been attemptsto deliberately drawattention away from thestunning inequity in Malibu’sproposal by pointingto how well-off SMMUSDis compared with otherdistricts, as if that somehowjustifies the harm thatwould come to the largerand more diverse part ofthe district that is in SantaMonica. This misdirectionis intended to take thefocus off of the real issueat the heart of this controversy;namely, equity. Let’sbe clear: Malibu’s proposalwould leave the studentsof Santa Monica worse offthan they would have beenif we remained SMMUSDwhile simultaneously creatinga small, 1,250- student,largely white, highlyaffluent school district inMalibu.3. After the city of SantaMonica and its voters haverepeatedly voted to taxthemselves to provide additionalfunding for ALLstudents for years — thosein Santa Monica and Malibu— Foster has the audacityto imply that the propertytaxes that are paid byMalibu residents should allgo solely to support onlythe dwindling numbersof students in two Malibuschools, a position groundedin a completely inaccurateunderstanding of theway school funding worksin California.4. Any attempt to blamethe declining enrollment inMalibu’s schools on SM-MUSD is absurd and dishonestas are mischaracterizationsof the PCB and theWoolsey Fire responses.Furthermore, accusationsabout cutting teachers andprograms in Malibu beliereality. In truth, SMMUSDspends more per student inMalibu than in Santa Monica,the student to teacherratio in Malibu schoolsis lower than in SantaMonica, and we continueto support measures thathelp Malibu schools stayvibrant despite their smallnumbers. Malibu’s schoolsare highly ranked by everypublication that indulges inthe ranking of California’spublic schools, and withgood reason.5. To talk about the “priceof Malibu’s freedom” andattempt to draw bizarreparallels between Malibu’sdesire to separate and actualfreedom movementsis sadly in keeping withthe dangerous direction ofour country in which seekingthe common good is nolonger a shared value. It isincreasingly being replacedby greed and selfishnessand the “I’ve got mine”mentality exhibited by theMalibu City Council.Make no mistake, Dr.Drati is, and has alwaysbeen, fiercely committedto providing opportunitiesfor all students in SM-MUSD. His responsibilitydoes not change once hedrives north on PCH andFoster well knows that. Dr.Drati’s commitment to equityis one of the reasonshe enjoys the support of allboard members. The SantaMonica-Malibu UnifiedSchool District must alwaysmake decisions basedon the best interests of itsstudents in Santa MonicaAND Malibu. Dr. Drati isthe superintendent of studentsin both of our communities.To attack him asbeing biased in favor ofSanta Monica is not merelyfalse, but it is unacceptablecoming from someone whohas spent six years servingboth communities and whoknows better.To reiterate, we believethere is a pathway for thecreation of two independentschool districts, butthat pathway is inseparablyconnected to the principleof equity. We remain committedto continuing downthe same path of negotiatingan equitable separationthat we embarked uponarm-in-arm with the cityshould the city wish to doso.Jon Kean is president, LaurieLieberman is vice presidentand Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein is a member of theSanta Monica-Malibu UnifiedSchool District Board ofEducation.FOSTERFrom Page 14board chose not to removedeadly carcinogenic PCBsfrom Malibu schools untilforced to by a federalcourt because it would betoo expensive for SantaMonica. You chose not toclose our schools the nightof the Woolsey Fire as werequested, costing manytheir possessions, some,perhaps, their homes butthankfully none their lives,this time. And you continueto cut teachers, staff andprograms which might haveallowed Malibu schools tofight to retain students inthis district-induced enrollmentslide because we’re“too expensive.” SantaMonica has grievouslyharmed our public schoolsand continues to do so as itacts in the interests and atthe direction of the 85 percentof district voters thatlive in Santa Monica.Let’s talk bad faith. In2016, six highly respectedcommunity members wereappointed, three by you,three by us, to a committee.The MUNC it was calledand its job was to find anorderly financial transitionto your and our independence.After 14+ months,they unanimously agreedthey’d reached the objectivesyou’d set, a smooth,positive financial transitionto political independence.Your board voted 6-1 toreject your own committee’srecommendations andindeed your own goals.Malibu Surfside NewsWe have you covered.SUBSCRIBE TODAY!From City Council and PlanningCommission to SMMUSD School Boardcoverage and breaking news,we have you covered atMalibuSurfsideNews.com.Without a subscription, you’re only gettingpart of the story. Get the full story whenyou subscribe to MalibuSurfsideNews.comSign up today for your2-week FREE TRIAL!Annual Subscription is $79MalibuSurfsideNews.com/free-trialNow you demand as theprice of Malibu’s freedomthat Malibu residents signover billions of dollars oftheir property taxes to SantaMonica for 50 or moreyears.The saddest part for meis that you, Dr. Drati, arethe superintendent of allthe kids. You should notbe spewing baseless insultsand taking sides. It’sbad enough when the SantaMonica elected schoolboard violates its trust butheartbreaking when you doit. Shame on you all.Craig Foster is the loneMalibu resident on the sevenmemberSanta Monica-MalibuUnified School DistrictBoard of Education.
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