Malibu is becoming its own school district. Here’s what that means for our students, and why MEF matters more than ever.

On December 1, 2025, the SMMUSD Board voted unanimously to approve three negotiated agreements, and on December 8, 2025, Malibu City Council voted unanimously to approve the same agreements. This paves the way for Malibu to form its own school district — the Malibu Unified School District (MUSD). It is a milestone decades in the making, and one that Malibu's families and community leaders have fought hard to reach.

It is also the beginning of a complicated transition. And transitions — even good ones — create gaps.

WHAT UNIFICATION MEANS

Malibu's four public schools have long operated within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District — a district whose administrative center, political gravity, and funding formulas have never been built around a community of Malibu's size or geography. Unification means Malibu students will finally be governed by a board accountable solely to Malibu.

But forming a new district takes time. Governance structures, administrative infrastructure, budgets, and state approval processes don't happen overnight. In the early years of MUSD, the new district will be building its financial foundation from scratch — while continuing to run four schools, pay staff, and deliver programs.

A new school district is a new institution. And new institutions need a community willing to fund them through the hard early years.

THE BRIDGE PERIOD

During the transition to MUSD, some programs and staff positions that were previously supported by SMMUSD infrastructure may face funding gaps. Sufficient funding will eventually follow — but timing matters. The programs Malibu students count on today cannot simply pause while the administrative calendar catches up.

MEF's role during this period is explicit and urgent: we are committed to funding essential staff and programs throughout the bridge years of unification. That means the instructional aides, the arts teachers, the athletics coaches, and the academic support roles that define the quality of a Malibu education — funded and protected through the transition.

THE UNIFICATION TIMELINE


April 2024

MEF established as Malibu's independent education foundation, with seed funding from the City of Malibu and SMMUSD.

December 1, 2025

SMMUSD Board votes unanimously to approve three negotiated unification agreements.

December 8, 2025

Malibu City Council votes unanimously to approve three negotiated unification agreements. With this agreement between SMMUSD and Malibu City, this goes to the county and state to determine the next steps in the process.

Now until we have a fully operational MUSD

MEF continues to commit to sustaining core staff and programs while the district separate process proceeds and MUSD builds its independent budget infrastructure.

MUSD fully operational

MEF transitions to its long-term role: endowment growth and supplemental program funding for generations to come.

FAQ - UNIFICATION QUESTIONS

  • The opposite. A new, independent district will have less institutional financial capacity in its early years, not more. MEF bridge funding is what ensures students don't feel the gap during the transition.

  • Yes. Education foundations are a permanent fixture in well-funded school communities — Manhattan Beach's MBEF has operated for over 40 years alongside a fully-functioning district. MEF's long-term role is to supplement what state funding cannot cover, and to build an endowment that protects Malibu schools in perpetuity.

  • The three negotiated agreements are available on the Malibu City website. For advocacy and community organizing around unification, visit Advocates for Malibu Public Schools (AMPS).

    👉 Read the three unification agreements on the MALIBU CITY WEBSITE.

    👉 To learn more about the unification path Visit AMPS (Advocates for Malibu Public Schools)