SMMUSD Agrees: If Malibu Will Back Off April 17th Divorce Meeting, SM Will Let LA County Decide On Terms For Malibu Independence

After a marathon seven hours of sharp negotiations, all seven members of the Santa Monica Unified School Board agreed on the concept of an independent Malibu district, if a county committee can come up with mutually-agreeable terms.

Malibu board member Craig Foster was among the 7-0 vote to ask the City of Malibu to postpone the first round in divorce court, a Los Angeles County Office of Education preliminary hearing set fro 8-1/2 days from now, Saturday, April 17.

By that same 7-0 margin, the board voted to have its financial consultants meet with the city’s team, plus the financial consultant from the county agency, to try to hash out financial details.

Malibu has been offering $50 million to Santa Monica over 10 years, if SM’s new SM-only district suffers a financial hit caused by the loss of lucrative tax revenue from Malibu’s property tax proceeds.  SM had been asking for 50 years of support, at a price tag the Malibu had estimated to exceed $4 billion over those five decades.

Part of the seven-hour meeting tonight was also spent discussing the long-running lawsuit filed by Malibu Unites. now known as America Unites, over PCB contamination at Malibu High School.

Although that lawsuit had been settled by the Ninth District U.S. Court of Appeals, final negotiations apparently have not concluded.

Foster, the only board member from Malibu, was the lone vote in the 6-1 board decision against Malibu’s “best and final” offer that was on the table at the 4 p.m. start of the secret board meeting.