Santa Monica Restricts City Funds for Schools in Malibu

The Santa Monica City Council voted Tuesday to bar the Santa Monica-Malibu School District from spending the city’s money on Malibu schools.

The city annually contributes about $1.5 million to the district’s general fund. But once the city staff determines a way to implement the restriction, the district will be required to redirect the money into funds that support only schools within Santa Monica city limits.

The 4-3 vote came after a heated debate over the economic disparity between schools in the two cities. The four schools sites in Malibu receive strong boosts from the parents of students, while some Santa Monica schools struggle with little more than government funding, said Councilman Paul Rosenstein, who voted in favor of the restriction.

“The parents in Malibu have been very generous so that the schools in Malibu have advantages and facilities that schools in Santa Monica don’t have,” he said. “I don’t think anybody begrudges the parents in Malibu . . . but the contrast between the schools is there.”

School board members spoke against the restriction, calling it “problematic.”

Board members who voted against the proposal said they were not convinced that the restriction is the best way to ensure that taxpayer money is spent on city schools.