Santa Monica parcel tax push aims to replace school subsidy

The Santa Monica-Malibu school district divorce is still years away, and the much larger Santa Monica operation still dwarfs the Malibu part of the joint school district. And the shaky condition of the city of Santa Monica — which is broke — is a major issue.

Santa Monica subsidizes its part of the SMMUSD to the tune of $12 million a year. No such subsidy flows from the city of Malibu to the schools out here.

Residents in Santa Monica cannot, under state law, do anything to raise property taxes there. But the school district can go to voters to ask for a school district parcel tax.

And that is exactly what is happening. Santa Monicans for Reliable School Funding has been collecting voter signatures to qualify a citizens' initiative creating a $495 parcel tax costing property owners $1.35 per day. Those new revenues would replace the discretionary General Fund dollars that are up for Council renewal in 2027, assuring TK-12 schools maintain their current operating revenues.

This would not be new funding for school operations; it would simply replace existing funding. At the same time the city's budget, currently under a declared state of fiscal distress, would no longer include that previous payment to the schools, allowing the Council to allocate more resources to other resident priorities.

Recently, local media have run rosy projections of the city's finances that suggest an imminent budget surplus of $5 million annually, leading some to question the need for the measure. But those predictions assume voter approval of a funding measure yielding $12 million in new annual revenues. Without those new funds, the Council will have to make budget cuts next year. Where would you like to see spending reductions: public safety, schools, libraries, recreational programs? Pick your poison.