Your Column Here
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District generally chooses not to argue with citizens in the press or social media. However, the current misinformation campaign requires clarification. Astoundingly, the “Your Column Here” opinion piece, published on February 2, 2021 by SMDP with the statement “SMMUSD is Burning Through Our Bond Money. Again.” introduces misleading and untrue statements before the first sentence is over. Opinions can differ but in order for our discourse to be of value, those opinions must be grounded in facts.
Fact: The district does have enough money to complete the projects promised in its bond campaigns. It is accurate to state that the district’s overall facility needs exceed available funding, which is the case for virtually every school district in the state. The author, after becoming engaged in this topic in October during her failed campaign for a seat on the SMMUSD school board, inaccurately claims that the five-year old
SMMUSD to discuss diversity Thursday
Feb. 03, 2021 at 6:00 am
The Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s Board of Education is set to meet for its first meeting in the month of February and there are a number of items relating to diversity in the district.
Thursday’s meeting is set to begin at 5:30 p.m. with two separate celebrations recognizing Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday and Black History Month, but a Report on Staff Diversity is among the higher-profile items listed on the meeting agenda.
Last June when SMMUSD stakeholders first began a discussion on social justice standards, former Board Member Oscar de la Torre asked staff to see the results of a diversity hiring report that was previously approved by SMMUSD. A few months later de la Torre broached the subject again when he asked staff about the possibility of a board policy that calls on the district to regularly review it’s hiring practices and diversity amongst staff.
Canyon News
The Boys and Girls Club of Malibu mission states: “Our mission is to significantly enhance the lives of all youth to fulfill their potential as caring, productive, contributing citizens.”
This will “create solution-based proposals for current real-world social injustices related to Policing, Education, Homelessness, or the Environment. Students will have the opportunity to create proposals, which will be pitched to a local representative at the state level,” explained the Boys and Girls Club of Malibu. “Students will gain the ability to customize their portfolios, strengthen their resume and college applications, and build their own website! Teens will utilize creative problem solving for real-world issues.”
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SANTA MONICA, CA
The following letter-to-the-editor was sent to Patch on behalf of two SMMUSD school board members, Jon Kean and Laurie Lieberman.
January 5, 2021
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Although he was sworn in as a member of the Santa Monica City Council on December 8, 2020, Oscar de la Torre persists in falsely claiming that he is still a member of the School Board. As part of his distorted reasoning, he also insists on denigrating the work of the Board of Education, deliberately fomenting discord rather than constructive engagement as our school community faces the dual challenges of educating students during a once-in-a-century pandemic and pursuing and achieving racial and social justice.