Santa Monica Incumbents Defeat Malibu Challengers

Santa Monica residents and incumbents kept their seats from opponents in Malibu and a ballot measure to fund campus improvements across the district passed, according to final results posted Wednesday morning.

The three incumbents—Ben Allen, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Jose Escarce, who all live in Santa Monica—held onto an early lead overnight.

"I hope that my returns stay the way they are," Allen said before the final results were out on Tuesday night. “And I hope the Proposition 30 returns get better. Honestly I think it [not passing] will make life on the school board very difficult.”

The Malibu candidates—Craig Foster, Karen Farrer and Seth Jacobson—ran on a reform slate. Election results were slow to trickle in, and early on Tuesday night, Foster was only 100 votes behind Escarce. He called the race "unpredictable" after the first round of results came out.

"I’m only going to wait and see what happens," Escarce said. "It will go one way or the other."

The slate said they would task the superintendent with increasing student achievement in schools across the district, reduce class sizes and close the achievement gap between different demographic groups. They have said they will pay for their ideas by reducing what they see as administrative bureaucracy and creating an independent Malibu School District.

Dense fog delayed reporting of the results, according to county officials. Helicopters carrying ballots to be counted in Norwalk were grounded late Tuesday at the Puente Hills

Mall in the City of Industry and the ballots had to be trucked in on the ground. Though absentee votes were released shortly after the polls closed at 8 p.m., more results were not released until the early morning Wednesday, confirming the incumbents' victories.

Trailing narrowly early on, Foster was optimistic Tuesday night.

"I am happy that with so few votes in, it is pretty close," Foster said. "We hope as more ballots are counted we gain ground."

Measure ES, a $385 million bond measure that would raise property taxes to fund campus and technology improvements, handily won with 67.7 percent approval. It needed 55 percent to pass.

On Tuesday night before the final results were in, Allen said he was encouraged by the vote.

"I'm just happy it is looking this strong at this stage," he said.

SANTA MONICA-MALIBU BOARD OF EDUCATION RESULTS

Allen has said he will set high academic expectations and standards, look to preserve programs that are at the core of the district such as art and athletics and address the needs of both Malibu and Santa Monica.

Leon-Vazquez has said she will work to create a culture of inclusion and trust among all families, modernize school facilities, increase revenue through district-wide fundraising and close the achievement gap.

Escarce has said he will seek to preserve programs while balancing the budget, promote teachers' professional development and strengthen intervention programs.

MEASURE ES RESULTS

Measure ES is meant to provide a portion of more than $1 billion of needed improvements at schools in Santa Monica and Malibu, according to assessments by the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. 

Nearly $500 million is needed for improvements at Santa Monica High School. Twenty percent of the funds are slated to go toward Malibu schools.

At elementary schools across the district about $93 million is needed to replace temporary classrooms with permanent ones.