The City Council voted last Tuesday to direct City Manager Oliver Chi to open negotiations with the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District on a new agreement governing public use of school fields, gyms and playgrounds, aiming to head off a possible loss of community access when the current pact expires in 2027.
The item passed on a 6-0 voice vote on a request from Mayor Caroline Torosis and Councilmember Dan Hall. Councilmember Lana Negrete recused herself, citing a potential conflict of interest involving her music store and a pending determination from the state Fair Political Practices Commission, and left the room before the discussion.
At issue is the Master Facilities Use Agreement, or MFUA, a decades-old arrangement that lets residents, youth sports leagues and city recreation programs use school property during non-school hours. The agreement is set to terminate June 30, 2027, and the council's action instructs staff to negotiate a successor deal addressing resident concerns over permitting, scheduling, facility availability, fees and how costs are divided between the two agencies.
Chi was also directed to analyze the fiscal and operational effects of both outcomes of Measure ES, a school parcel tax on the November ballot, and to bring contingency options to the council's March budget study session if the measure fails.
Hall, who brought the item with Torosis, said the council wanted to make clear that if the measure passes, "we intend to use those funds for a successor agreement." He said the permitting, scheduling and cost issues the negotiations must resolve "have been pain points over the past couple of decades," and asked staff to return in March with "the trade-offs that we will have to make if Measure ES does not pass." Torosis seconded the motion.
In the 2024-25 period, the city transferred just over $30 million to the district across two agreements — about $11.4 million from the general fund for elementary and middle schools and playground programs, and $18.8 million in transaction and use tax revenue tied to Measures YY and GS for Santa Monica High School and Los Amigos Park, according to a Recreation and Parks Commission letter included in the meeting record.
Measure ES, the parcel tax at the heart of the timing, is headed to the November ballot. Supporters describe it as a way for residents to take on the funding the district now receives from the city, giving the district a dedicated revenue source of its own.
The agreement dates to 2005, part of a City-school funding relationship residents trace back roughly two decades. A 2012 version ran for 10 years, and a 2022 modification extended the term to the current 2027 end date. In May, the school board unanimously affirmed community access to its fields, gyms and play areas, a commenter noted.
Residents and the city's parks commission submitted written comments ahead of the vote, most urging the council to act quickly.
Ann Bowman, a former Recreation and Parks Commission member, wrote that school campuses "belong to the people," not the district, and argued the city is the appropriate entity to keep them open after hours. Others pointed to a shortage of open space. Resident Matt Goldenberg noted the city averages just 1.55 park acres per 1,000 residents and said families in much of the city depend on the elementary and middle school fields the MFUA covers.
Elizabeth Van Denburgh, chair of the Wilmont neighborhood, said her area's 12,500 households have few yards and one true neighborhood park, making school-ground access essential.
Some backers pressed for urgency for strategic reasons. Karen Melick, vice chair of the Recreation and Parks Commission, warned that if the parcel tax passes, it "removes the primary financial incentive for the District to share its facilities," weakening the city's negotiating position.
Not everyone endorsed the approach. Nikki Kolhoff, a Sunset Park resident, called the item overdue and argued the parcel tax amounts to a "city tax disguised as a school tax," contending the council could have simply amended the agreement's dates years ago rather than let a termination loom.
The council's action directs staff to begin negotiations ahead of the agreement's June 2027 expiration.