A group of Malibu residents is spearheading a formal push to break away from the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. What it boils down to, supporters of the breakup say, is Malibu isn’t connected to Santa Monica by land, and there’s no longer any need for the two cities to share their schools. They also point out that if the district did split, Santa Monica wouldn’t have to share a $6 million annual contribution from City Hall.
A similar attempt to form a separate district was made in 1990, but apparently the plan lacked enough students or a sound economic plan.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on August 13, 2004. Read the original PDF.