The Santa Monica-Malibu School Board is meeting tonight for the fourth time on an issue that could divide the district in two. Last night, the Malibu City Council voted to start that process. The root cause is that California is not providing enough money for K-12 public schools, so parents who can afford it are coming up with cash on their own. We hear one local version of a debate that's raging statewide.
30 November follow-up
The Santa Monica-Malibu School Board last night changed private fundraising rules. By a vote of 6 to nothing, with one abstention, it ruled that PTA's of individual schools will no longer be allowed to pay the salaries of extra teaching staff. The goal is to avoid inequities between rich and poor schools. The district-wide Education Foundation will get that responsibility sometime in the next three years. The City of Malibu has voted to consider forming its own, separate district.