The May 29 rescheduled revote to determine the future of the Santa Monica Malibu Unified School District is rapidly approaching but both sides have already reengaged to hammer out a deal despite the vastly prolonged process.
The Los Angeles County Committee on School District Organization will revote on Malibu's 2017 petition to create an independent school district, following a procedural error that invalidated the committee's previous decision. The committee had voted 6-5 in April to deny Malibu's petition, citing staff reports that the proposed split failed to meet eight of nine required criteria.
The first scheduled revote did not occur and the Committee instead punted the decision to this week.
The upcoming revote comes as the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and Malibu officials have resumed negotiations on three key agreements needed for a voluntary separation after talks had stalled in recent months.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board Member Jon Kean said the district has reengaged with Malibu officials in preparation for the county vote.
"I'll just say that as we stated we would do, we have reengaged with the malibu subcommittee, the city of malibu subcommittee, we've made sure that we're both we're all hearing the same things at the same time," Kean said. "The hope is that we'll be able to work towards a mediated outcome. It's what we've been trying to do for years. And we're happy to report that the city of Malibu has returned to the table as invited."
The City of Malibu released a statement expressing confidence that agreements between the two sides were ready for approval.
"The parties agree on all three agreements and, in the last few weeks, have done the additional work of meeting with concerned stakeholders in the District," the city said in its statement. "The only thing left is for the District to approve the agreements, and the City hopes the Board does that before the County Committee votes on the City's petition on May 29, 2025."
After the initial, and now void, vote to reject Malibu’s separation petition, the Board asked staff for several actions: reengaging with Malibu consultants, reaching out to the Malibu subcommittee for new mediation sessions, consulting with the Financial Oversight Committee on risk exposure, holding information sessions with employee unions, and fine-tuning the agreements.
The two sides had previously worked on three key elements: a Revenue Sharing Agreement, an Operational Transfer Agreement and a Joint Powers Agreement. Last year they had announced plans for these agreements, but they were never formalized, prompting Malibu to pursue a county-mandated split instead.
Specific sticking points in the agreements were largely financial in nature but the Santa Monica-Malibu Classroom Teachers Association had raised concerns about educator protections in both communities, including job security provisions and compensation planning for both districts.
Superintendent Antonio Shelton confirmed that meetings with the teachers union were also scheduled as part of the ongoing discussions.