Schools

School Board to Determine Goals for Upcoming Year

Malibu education activists want the board to support their community's proposed separation from the shared school district with Santa Monica.

As the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education prepares for its annual retreat, Malibu education activists say they are hopeful the board will include Malibu's goals in the conversation.

During the retreat, board members will work with the superintendent to discuss their roles and responsibilities, and districtwide goals for the upcoming school year. The meeting is  8:30 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 15 at the district offices in Santa Monica.

Seth Jacobson, a former candidate for the Board of Education, said he wants the district puts its focus on kids, not politics, and give the superintendent more authority to implement policies.

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Jacobson, who is also part of the Advocates for Malibu Schools, said he would also like the board to support Malibu's efforts to sever itself from the district. He said the district needs to focus on closing the achievement gap with greater after school programs and funds gained by cutting administrative costs by up to 40 percent.

Jacobson is part of a slate of Malibu candidates, including Craig Foster and Karen Farrer, that ran for three seats on the board in the November 2012 election. Incumbents Ben Allen, Maria Leon-Vazquez and Jose Escarce were re-elected.

Find out what's happening in Santa Monicawith free, real-time updates from Patch.

During the race, Malibu's lack representation on the school district was a dominant theme throughout the race. The last Malibu resident to serve on the board opted not to seek another term in 2008.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here