Schools
Group Ramps Up Efforts to Create Malibu Unified School District
The organization opens an office in Malibu and announces the hiring of a staffer, who will focus on outreach in Santa Monica and Malibu.
Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS) made a bold move this week in its quest to create an independent Malibu School District.
The organization opened a Malibu office and hired a full-time staffer, Alexia Burton, who will serve as administrative coordinator. The office is located at 23805 Stuart Ranch Road, which is where Malibu used to house its City Hall.
"This is a very significant move for AMPS, to allow us to outreach to the community and build momentum for our goals of creating a Malibu Unified School District, and excellent education for all students," said Craig Foster, president of AMPS.
Burton is a Pepperdine University graduate and will focus her efforts on community outreach in Malibu and Santa Monica. She will also provide backup to the AMPS board of directors, which include Karen Farrer, Seth Jacobson and Craig Foster, who ran as a slate for three spots on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. The candidates all lost to incumbents, but vowed to continue working toward a separate Malibu school district.
Currently, Malibu schools are under the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and its board of education, which is made up of all Santa Monica residents.
"We hope that this will further demonstrate to our local community and our neighbors in Santa Monica that we are eager to work collectively to find a better future for our district," Foster said.
The organization is expecting the results of a second study of separating from SMMUSD in the coming weeks.
AMPS also relaunched its website at www.ampsmalibu.org.
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