School is canceled, but the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District still intends to hold its upcoming board of education meeting this Thursday, according to district leaders.
Originally scheduled to occur in Malibu, Thursday’s meeting is now set to begin at 5:30 p.m. in Santa Monica at 1651 16th Street.
“SMMUSD is doing its part to help in the efforts to reduce the spread of COVID-19 by encouraging members of the public to watch the Board of Education meetings live online at: bit.ly/SMMUSDboard,” district spokeswoman Gail Pinsker said this week.
In light of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the district will limit in-person attendance at the Board of Education meeting to 15 members of the public at any one time, Pinsker added. “We ask for the school community’s understanding that the intent is not to limit public participation, but rather to protect public health by following the recommendations given by the Governor and California and Department of Public Health…”
Members of the public who wish to speak during the public comment portion of the meeting can still do so in-person or online by visiting bit.ly/SMMUSDcomment. Those who wish for their written comments to be read aloud should specifically request that district do so in the “comments” section when submitting a request, Pinsker said.
On the Agenda
Compared to its most recent meetings in late February and early March, which featured dozens of public speakers, Thursday’s meeting appears like it will be a short one as there are only a few items to be discussed after the approval of the district’s consent calendar, according to the posted agenda.
The meeting will kick off with the recognition of the Malibu Boys’ and Girls’ Club Youth of the Year recipients, which is expected to last 10 minutes and precede a discussion about possible changes to board policies that would allow the sale and consumption of alcohol at approved and permitted special events on school campuses.
The board will then move to student data with staff, who will share information gathered from the 2019-2020 school year. The statistics that are expected to be presented at the meeting will be posted online prior to the board meeting, according to the agenda.
The sole major action item listed on Thursday night’s agenda is the proposed adoption of Resolution No. 19-34, which pertains to a prospective measure on the upcoming November 2020 ballot.
If the resolution were to be approved Thursday night, the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education would officially endorse the Schools and Communities First Funding Act for a ballot measure in November 2020, according to the posted resolution.
“To learn more about the funding act,” visit schoolsandcommunitiesfirst.org, the agenda states, before mentioning the act’s proponents of record are: Carol Moon Goldberg of the League of Women Voters of California, Rev. Ben McBride of PICO California and Anthony Thigpenn of California Calls.
brennon@smdp.com
