The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) Board of Education has put a special meeting on the schedule for Thursday, a chance to broach facility needs for district schools and discuss a general obligation bond for the November 2024 ballot.
During the meeting, staff will present capital facility needs for Santa Monica and Malibu schools in separate presentations, allowing the board to discuss placing a general obligation bond on the ballot for School Facility Improvement District #1 (Santa Monica) and School Facility Improvement District #2 (Malibu). The district’s Facility Improvement Projects Department completed assessments of school facilities over the past six years to determine "necessary improvements to meet campus needs," factoring in historic resources inventories, sustainability plans and infrastructure needs inventory.
First phase designs have begun for many of the planned projects, and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process has been completed at several schools thus far. For Malibu schools, the first phase of Malibu High School construction is underway using Measure M funding, but the remaining phases of modernization at the site and Malibu Middle School require additional funding to be completed. Campus assessments of Malibu Elementary School and Webster Elementary School in Malibu are also currently in process.
Several public hearings are also scheduled for Thursday, including a hearing on the 2024-25 Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP, a requirement for California public schools under the Local Control Funding Formula, is a three-year plan that describes goals "to support positive student outcomes that address state and local priorities." LCAP goals are rooted in the district’s values of diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, curiosity and empowerment; as well as the district’s mission statement of "extraordinary achievement for all students while simultaneously closing the achievement gap."
The district’s three LCAP goals are similar in nature to prior goals, albeit with some language changes. The goals are:
• Making sure all students "will be college and career ready through socially just pathways rooted in curiosity, belonging and environment."
• Multilingual Learners "will become proficient in English while engaging in a rigorous, culturally and linguistically responsive, standards-aligned core curriculum."
• Having all students and families "feel connected and informed" by "engaging in safe, well-maintained and culturally responsive schools that support future-ready learning."
Another hearing will be held on the district’s 2024-25 proposed budget prior to formal consideration of the budget. This includes revenue and expenditure assumptions, estimated district reserves, revenue and expenditure summaries and multi-year financial projections. Budget adoption is scheduled for the end of June, potentially at the board’s June 27 meeting. A further fiscal-based public hearing will tackle the adoption of a Temporary Interfund Cash Borrowing resolution, which will allow for inter-fund cash borrowing between district funds.
