S A N TA M O N I C A
REFLECTING THE CONCERNS OF THE COMMUNITY smmirror.com
September 10 – September 16, 2021 Volume XCXV, Issue 110
INSIDE
UPDATE: SANTA MONICANS FRUSTRATED AFTER GETTING TICKETED FOR RETURN OF WEEKLY STREET SWEEPING PAGE 4
Report Urges Against Splitting Santa Monica-Malibu School District LA County Office of Education Division of Business Advisory Services releases report ahead of September 18 meeting By Sam Catanzaro
A recent report recommends Los Angeles County education officials deny moving forward with a proposal to split the public school district serving Santa Monica and Malibu. On September 2, the LA County Office of Education Division of Business Advisory Services released a report on a proposal to form a Malibu Unified School District (USD) from territory currently within the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (Santa
Monica-Malibu USD). The analysis, prepared for the LA County Committee on School District Organization (County Committee), concluded that this split would negatively affect the financial status of the resulting Santa Monica USD, should it be approved, recommending that the County Committee deny moving the proposal forward. The Committee convened a first public hearing on April 17 and a second hearing is scheduled for September 18 where a decision will be made. The analysis found that eight of nine conditions required under the County’s education code were not substantially met. The primary reason given was that a resulting Malibu USD may not have, or be able to maintain, enrollment of at least 1,501 students, a number required under California law. “Staff has been informed anecdotally that wildfires (which occurred before the COVID-19 pandemic) have driven the population of students enrolled in Malibu area schools below 1501 because families who lost
Roosevelt Elementary Roosevelt Elementary School on Montana Avenue in Santa Monica.
Photo: Sam Catanzaro
their homes have not yet been able to return.
the pandemic, nor is it clear what overall
Malibu area schools’ enrollment lists during
SMMUSD Split, see page 6
It is not clear if those families returned to
Road Rage Leads to Shooting in Santa Monica Santa Monica police investigating September 6 incident By Sam Catanzaro
Santa Monica police are investigating an incident of road rage that led to a shooting Monday afternoon. According to the Santa Monica Police Department (SMPD), on September 6 around 1:21 p.m., officers responded to a report of shots fired in the area of Yorkshire Avenue
and Pico Boulevard. At the same time, an additional caller reported a hit and run near the same location, police noted. When officers arrived on scene, both the suspect and suspect vehicle were gone, according to the SMPD. “The officers met with a victim and witnesses who reported that the suspect in this incident rammed the victims’ car from behind in a possible road rage incident. The victims exited their vehicle and while attempting to flee were targeted by the suspect who fired several gun shots at them,” the SMPD said. “One of the victims received a grazing wound to his knee and was transported to a local
hospital.” SMPD detectives are attempting to identify and locate the suspect and vehicle involved in this incident. The suspect is described as a white man, between 20-25 years old, around 6’1”, with a thin build and having tattoos on the right side of his face. At the time of the incident, he was wearing a blue and white long sleeve sweater, gray or tan pants and white
shoes. The vehicle he was driving is described as a newer black Mercedes Benz 4 door sedan. Anyone with additional information pertaining to this incident or individual is strongly encouraged to contact Detective Haro with the Criminal Investigations Division at 310-458-2256 or the Santa Monica Department’s Watch Commander (24 hours) at 310-458-8427.
The scene of a hit and run and shooting in Santa Monica Monday.
Photo: Citizen App