The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously Aug. 6 to endorse a citizen-initiated parcel tax on the Nov. 3 ballot, part of a fiscal agenda that also included a rare mid-summer budget revision and the renewal of a delinquent-tax collection agreement.
The board's central action was Resolution No. 26-04, a statement of support for the "Excellent Santa Monica Public Schools Parcel Tax Measure," which would levy $495 a year on each taxable parcel in Santa Monica, adjusted for inflation. Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton, reading the resolution into the record, said the measure "does not create any new funding; it replaces the source of funding previously provided through the master facility use agreement."
That agreement, known as the MFUA, currently sends the district roughly $12 million a year — the equivalent of about 5% of its workforce — but is scheduled to end June 30, 2027. The Santa Monica City Council declared local fiscal distress in September 2025, and district leaders warned that losing the money without a replacement would be devastating.
"Losing the master facilities use agreement would be catastrophic," board member Stacy Rouse said, describing a budget she called tight even in a "basic aid" district that draws excess local property tax.
Board member Jon Kean framed his support as a way to end the district's financial reliance on the city. "In the past eight years, I have been in dozens of meetings where the master facility use was used as a cudgel," he said. "It was used as a carrot and a stick." He added that he did not want the city to have "that sort of Damocles over our head anymore."
Board member Jennifer Smith tied her vote to the volatility of California school funding. "We need to stabilize school funding as much as we can," she said, arguing the measure "actually creates more stability." Board member Maria Leon-Vazquez said local control was essential to preserving what she called "a community school district," one that enrolls the children of city, college and district employees who live outside district boundaries.
The measure, brought forward by the nonprofit Santa Monicans for Reliable School Funding, includes exemptions for qualifying seniors, affordable housing, nonprofits and religious organizations, and bars spending on administrator salaries, land acquisition or capital construction. It requires independent oversight and annual performance audits. If approved, it is estimated to generate about $11 million a year.
Board members stressed that community use of school facilities is protected by law and does not depend on the measure. Upton said district and city staff have already begun discussing an agreement to preserve city-run programs if the tax passes. Board Vice-President Laurie Lieberman said a new facilities agreement would be difficult to negotiate until voters decide the measure's fate, warning that if it fails, "we're in a much, much deeper hole." Board member Rouse suggested a nominal agreement "even if it's for $1" to signal good faith.
Board President Alicia Mignano called the roll on each item. On the parcel tax, Rouse voted yes but added "with humility as a Malibu resident" that she "wouldn't carry the burden that other people carry." Malibu student board member Parker Kaplan abstained.
The board also approved its first 45-day budget revision in four to five years, a step required when the enacted state budget differs significantly from the spending plan the board adopted in June. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Gerardo Cruz — who quipped, "I will not make this 45 minutes. Don't worry, we'll make it 10" — said the revision reflects about $11.23 million in newly finalized state and federal funding. Most is restricted, he cautioned, and cannot flow to the district's day-to-day operating fund.
The largest piece, roughly $7.49 million, is a one-time Student Support and Professional Development Block Grant. About $3 million in additional special education money, passed through the Tri-City SELPA shared with Beverly Hills and Culver City, is the only portion that meaningfully eases the general fund. Cruz said special education is "woefully underfunded, not only at our district, not only across the state, but across the nation." Smaller amounts include about $280,000 for expanded learning and $490,000 in learning-recovery funds. A school-level equity multiplier allocation for Olympic High School remains pending state certification. The revision passed unanimously and will be formally booked into the district's ledger at the First Interim report in December.
Finally, the board adopted Resolution No. 26-05, assigning delinquent property-tax receivables to the California Statewide Delinquent Tax Finance Authority for the fiscal years ending in 2026, 2027 and 2028. Cruz said the district, which has participated since 2002, contracts the collection of late payments through School Services of California, as do "99% of all school districts in California." Board member Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein moved the resolution and Smith seconded it; it passed with no dissenting votes.