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# Measure ES fails, leaving council with $12 million school funding choice
- URL: https://www.smdp.com/measure-es-fails-leaving-council-with-12-million-school-funding-choice/
- Published: 2026-11-11T18:01:21.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-11T18:01:21.000Z
- Author: Matthew Hall
- Tags: Education

Santa Monica voters have rejected Measure ES, a citizen-initiated parcel tax that would have raised about $12 million a year for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District, leaving the City Council to decide whether to end its annual payment to the district or find the money elsewhere.

The “no” votes had 52.5% of the ballot (20,014 votes) as of the most recent update compared to 47.5% “yes” (18,098) votes. 

The results have yet to be certified but there are only a few hundred outstanding votes for the City of Santa Monica, far too few to overcome the current results. Certification is not expected until Nov. 27.

Measure ES would have imposed a special tax of $495 per taxable parcel, adjusted each year for inflation, with no expiration date. Qualifying seniors, affordable housing, nonprofits, religious organizations and schools would have been exempt.

All of the revenue would have gone to SMMUSD or a successor Santa Monica school district, with none going to a new Malibu district. The money could not have been used for administrator salaries, land purchases or new construction, and independent audits would have been required.

According to the City Attorney's impartial analysis, the measure was intended to replace city funding the district receives under the Master Facilities Use Agreement, which expires June 30, 2027\. Because it qualified by petition, with 7,711 valid signatures, it needed only a simple majority to pass.

The initiative followed a January decision by city staff to pull a council-sponsored $540 parcel tax that would have required a two-thirds vote. A city poll of 499 voters in October 2025 showed weak support, with funding the school agreement ranking last of 10 uses tested, at 34%.

Supporters included the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association, the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce, the SMMUSD Council of PTAs, the SMMUSD board, Mayor Caroline Torosis and Councilmember Barry Snell. They argued the city's fiscal distress put the $12 million at risk.

Opponents, including Northeast Neighbors, the Wilshire Montana Neighborhood Coalition and the Pico Neighborhood Association, called ES "a Santa Monica City tax disguised as a school tax." They argued it would shift the cost from the city to residents permanently and free up $12 million in city money with "no restrictions."

In a statement, SMMUSD board President Alicia Mignano said the district "respects the voice of Santa Monica voters and the democratic process."

"The District remains committed to serving students, families, staff and the community," Mignano said. "We will continue to carefully assess our financial outlook and explore available options. This includes opportunities to collaborate with the City of Santa Monica as we move forward while keeping our community informed as we plan for the future."

She added that the district's priority "remains providing students with high-quality educational opportunities and maintaining strong schools and services for our community."

ES revenue would not have gone into the city's General Fund. But it would have let the council negotiate a successor agreement with the district without General Fund cost, and the city's budget projections already assume the roughly $12 million annual payment ends in 2027.

The City of Santa Monica did not respond to a request for comment by press time but staff have previously said any budget projections that lifted the city out of its current fiscal crisis were predicated on termination of the payment. 

An October city staff report said that if voters rejected ES, the city planned to end the payment. In September, the council voted 6-0 to direct Chi to negotiate a successor agreement and to bring "the trade-offs that we will have to make if Measure ES does not pass" to a March 2027 budget study session. The next two-year budget takes effect July 1, 2027.

Keeping the payment would reopen a recurring gap of about $12 million. City year-end figures released in October show the city used $26.7 million in one-time reserves in fiscal year 2025-26, and the operating budget ran a $4.3 million deficit excluding $22.5 million in transfers to capital projects.

For the district, losing the payment would cut about 7% of its main operating revenue, according to supporters. SMMUSD already projected deficits of $9 million to $12 million a year through 2028-29, assuming the city kept paying. The district holds about $89 million in reserves.

The city will continue sending about $18 million a year to SMMUSD through a separate Measure YY/GS facilities agreement that runs through June 30, 2038.