After generations of struggle for local control over education, the Malibu City Council unanimously approved three foundational agreements Monday night that bring the city significantly closer to establishing an independent school district separate from Santa Monica.
The 5-0 vote at the Dec. 8 council meeting represented what officials and community members described as a watershed moment in a fight that began more than a decade ago, though Deputy City Attorney Christine Wood cautioned that actual implementation remains years away.
"We will not have a school district next school year," Wood told the packed council chambers. "We will have a district soon, and that's what this milestone represents, that the Malibu Unified School District will happen at some point, not next year, but at some point very soon."
The agreements, which the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education approved the previous week, establish the financial and operational framework for splitting the current unified district into two separate entities: Santa Monica Unified School District and Malibu Unified School District.
The three agreements address revenue sharing, operational transfer of assets and services, and establishment of a joint powers authority to oversee the transition.
Under the Revenue Sharing Agreement — described as the most significant component — property taxes from the future Malibu district would guarantee Santa Monica 4% annual growth in unrestricted revenue. Crucially, if Santa Monica achieves that growth independently, Malibu would contribute nothing.
"The revenue sharing agreement guarantees Santa Monica 4% annual growth and unrestricted revenue to the extent additional funding is needed," Wood said in her presentation. "The most significant thing about this is, if Santa Monica realizes their 4% growth on its own, there will be no contribution from the city, from the Malibu Unified School District."
The Operational Transfer Agreement addresses practical concerns including the division of assets, liabilities and programmatic resources between the two districts. A key provision ensures the new Malibu district would start with at least $7.5 million in reserves, even if standard allocation formulas would result in less — a concession Wood described as "significant" in negotiations.
The Joint Powers Agreement creates a seven-member governing body with three representatives each from Malibu and Santa Monica, plus one neutral member jointly selected. This authority would oversee property tax transfers and manage unexpected variances in the revenue-sharing formula.
The path to Monday's vote stretched back to 2011, when Advocates for Malibu Public Schools formed and gathered thousands of petition signatures. The city officially submitted its petition for separation to Los Angeles County's Committee on School District organization in August 2017.
After multiple delays for negotiations, the county committee recommended denial in June 2025 by a narrow 5-4 vote. The petition now sits before the State Board of Education. Meanwhile, mediation between the city and district that began in February 2022 produced the agreements approved Monday.
Councilmember Bruce Silverstein acknowledged the contentious history before voting. "I'll just echo everything everyone has said. You all speakers, you're amazing," Silverstein said. "I mean, this may be the first significant matter that I've sat up here and dealt with. Nobody spoke against us."
Mayor Marianne Riggins, who served on the school separation ad hoc committee, thanked dozens of current and former officials, consultants and residents by name for their contributions over seven years. But she also issued a warning about potential obstacles ahead.
"The one thing that I heard from the Santa Monica district is their intent on having a full wide vote, including the city of Santa Monica," Riggins said. "I will do everything in my power and fight, fight, fight. And I think that that's going to be the big fight that we're going to keep it in the Malibu area as the affected area to vote for."
Next steps include working with the district to incorporate the agreements into the state approval process, securing special legislation to support implementation, and potentially completing environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
Wood emphasized the collaborative approach needed moving forward while acknowledging uncertainty about timeline and process.
"There's still a question as to how to incorporate these agreements into the approval process," Wood said. "We will begin, literally tomorrow, working with the district to identify how to incorporate the agreements into the approval process."
The emotional meeting drew families with young children, longtime advocates and former council members who had championed separation efforts years earlier. Multiple speakers described the moment as completing Malibu's original drive for cityhood 35 years ago.