Pasadena Unified vs Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
CA · 13,757 students • CA · 8,623 students • fiscal year 2024 • swap sides
In one line
- Pasadena Unified spends 9% more per student than Santa Monica-Malibu Unified after adjusting for local price levels.
- Pasadena Unified directs 2 more cents of every operating dollar to instruction than Santa Monica-Malibu Unified.
- Santa Monica-Malibu Unified is far more dependent on local property taxes (88% of revenue vs 48%), which ties its budget more tightly to local property values.
- Santa Monica-Malibu Unified reports fewer students per teacher (18.6 vs 21.1). This is a staffing ratio, not an average class size.
Are these even comparable?
Establish the shape of each district before reading a single dollar figure.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Students enrolled | 13,757 | 8,623 |
| Schools | 23 | 17 |
| Grades served | K–12 | K–12 |
| Setting | City | City |
| County | Los Angeles County | Los Angeles County |
| State | CA | CA |
| Local price level (US = 100) Above 100 means a dollar buys less here than the national average. | 113.6 | 113.6 |
The headline dollar
Current operating spending per student, shown three ways. The first is what each district reports. The second and third are the honest ones for comparison.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Per student, as reported | $24,909 | $22,837 |
| Per student, price-adjusted Divided by the local price level, so both figures are in the same money. | $21,933 | $20,109 |
| Per student, price-adjusted, excluding transport Transportation provision varies enormously between districts and states. Removing it compares the parts both districts actually do. | $21,484 | $19,878 |
| Capital spending per student Buildings and land, never folded into the operating figures above. It is lumpy: a district mid-build looks expensive for two years. | Locked | Locked |
Pasadena Unified
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
Where the money comes from
The funding mix determines how exposed a district is to local property values, to state politics, and to federal programmes ending.
Pasadena Unified
- Local 47.9% Locked
- State 38.6% Locked
- Federal 13.4% Locked
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
- Local 87.6% Locked
- State 10.2% Locked
- Federal 2.1% Locked
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Local share of revenue Mostly property tax. A high share means school budgets track local property values, up and down. | 47.9% | 87.6% |
| State share of revenue | 38.6% | 10.2% |
| Federal share of revenue | 13.4% | 2.1% |
| Total revenue | Locked | Locked |
How CA funds its districts
LCFF — Local Control Funding Formula: a base grant per pupil plus supplemental and concentration grants driven by low-income, English-learner and foster-youth counts.
How CA funds its districts
LCFF — Local Control Funding Formula: a base grant per pupil plus supplemental and concentration grants driven by low-income, English-learner and foster-youth counts.
Where the money goes
The same slices in the same order for both districts, plus the differences by function — because two pie charts side by side hide exactly the thing you want to see.
Pasadena Unified
- Instruction 53.1% Locked
- Instructional staff support 11.4% Locked
- Student support 8.3% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 10.4% Locked
- Transportation 2.0% Locked
- Food service 3.0% Locked
- School administration 4.4% Locked
- District administration 2.5% Locked
- Other support 4.0% Locked
- Other current 3.0% Locked
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
- Instruction 57.6% Locked
- Instructional staff support 5.2% Locked
- Student support 7.8% Locked
- Operations & maintenance 13.9% Locked
- Transportation 1.1% Locked
- Food service 2.5% Locked
- School administration 5.7% Locked
- District administration 2.4% Locked
- Other support 2.8% Locked
- Other current 2.5% Locked
What is actually different
Share of each district's operating dollar, Pasadena Unified minus Santa Monica-Malibu Unified. Two pie charts side by side are almost impossible to read against each other; this is the same data as one chart.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Cents of each operating dollar reaching classrooms Instruction plus instructional staff support, as a share of current spending. | 64.5% | 62.8% |
| Administration share District office plus school administration. | 6.9% | 8.1% |
| Transportation share | 2.0% | 1.1% |
What the money buys
Staffing levels are the most direct thing a budget converts into.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Students per teacher This is a staffing ratio: total enrollment divided by teaching staff. It is NOT average class size. Actual classes are larger than this number in every district. | 21.1 | 18.6 |
| Students per counselor | Locked | Locked |
| Students per administrator | Locked | Locked |
| Total salaries All staff, not teachers alone. | Locked | Locked |
Who they serve
The answer to "but they serve different kids" — which is usually a fair objection.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Child poverty rate Children aged 5 to 17 in poverty within the district boundary. Used instead of free-lunch eligibility, which community eligibility has made unusable for comparison. | 10.7% | 8.4% |
| English learners | — | — |
| Students with disabilities | — | — |
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -13.8% | -16.7% |
Results, and results for the money
Stability and risk
The homebuyer’s real question: what is likely to change after I move in?
Pasadena Unified
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
- High debt burden More than 10% of total spending goes to interest and debt retirement, money that cannot reach a classroom.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
- Declining enrollment Enrollment fell more than 5% over five years. Enrollment decline is the single best predictor of school closures and programme cuts.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Enrollment change, 5 years | -13.8% | -16.7% |
| Long-term debt per student | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service share of spending | Locked | Locked |
Enrolling a child
The same checklist for both districts. Every "required" below links to the sentence it came from.
Pasadena Unified
Enroll Your Child - Pasadena Unified School District
Almost nothing could be read off this page — usually a portal that builds its content in the browser. Treat the column below as "we could not tell", and open the district's page yourself.
Registration runs through Aeries. Read August 25, 2026.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
Registration runs through PowerSchool. Read August 25, 2026.
Is a seat at your zoned school guaranteed?
Pasadena Unified
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
We have no such statement from this district — which is not the same as a promise that your zoned school has room. Most districts never publish the policy in either direction. Ask the school office directly whether your address’s school is enrolling at your child’s grade level before you sign anything.
- This is the district’s own published wording, not our summary of it. Policies are rewritten between enrollment seasons and a page can be out of date the day after we read it — the school office is the only authority on whether a particular grade at a particular school is full right now.
- A warning here is about capacity, not about your address. It does not mean your child will be moved; it means the district has told you in writing that it may move them.
- Required the page says so, and the sentence is quoted.
- Mentioned only it comes up, but not as a requirement — often a sentence saying the district cannot demand it.
- Not mentioned we read the page and it was not on it. That is not the same as "not required".
- Page not read we have no enrollment page for this district.
Documents to bring
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| Proof of residency | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Proof of age (usually a birth certificate) | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Immunisation records | Not mentioned | Required “Enrollment & Immunization” |
| Physical examination | Not mentioned | Required “In addition to meeting vaccination requirements, the Oral Health Assessment form and a TB Risk Assessment are required to be completed within your child's firs…” |
| Dental, vision or hearing screening | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Tuberculosis test | Not mentioned | Required “In addition to meeting vaccination requirements, the Oral Health Assessment form and a TB Risk Assessment are required to be completed within your child's firs…” |
| Records from the previous school | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| IEP or 504 plan | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Custody or guardianship paperwork | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Parent or guardian photo ID | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Home language survey | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Emergency contact information | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Proof of income | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
| Social security number Asked for by some districts. It is not required to enrol, and a school may not refuse a child who does not provide one. We list it because districts ask, not because you must answer. | Not mentioned | Not mentioned |
How enrolling works
Locked 11 steps of the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments, proof of residency — are not shown. What to bring is above, and stays free.
- A blank row means the requirement did not appear on the district’s page. It does not mean the district will not ask for it — published lists are routinely incomplete, and the registrar has the final word.
- Requirements change every enrollment season. Check the district’s own page, linked above, before you gather anything.
- A district cannot condition enrollment on your child’s immigration status: under Plyler v. Doe (1982) every child resident in the district is entitled to a free public education. If a district asks for something that would reveal status, you are not obliged to provide it.
- If your family is in temporary or shared housing, the McKinney-Vento Act lets a child enrol immediately without the residency and records documents listed here. Ask for the district’s homeless liaison by name.
Comparability notes
No comparability caveats: these two are a like-for-like pair.
What these numbers are, exactly
Who decides, and what it costs you
Every band above this one asks what a district spends. This one asks who chose to.
Pasadena Unified
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
The district levies its own school tax
This district raises property tax in its own name. Who sets the rate varies by state — an elected board in some, a public vote in others — but the levy is the school system’s own, and it is the part of a tax bill that school politics moves most directly.
| Pasadena Unified | Santa Monica-Malibu Unified | |
|---|---|---|
| School property tax levied, per student Only for districts that levy in their own name. Blank where the county or town levies instead — see the cards above, and read the next row. | $10,723 | $17,462 |
| Appropriated by the county or town, per student What the parent government handed the schools, for dependent systems. This is a general appropriation, not solely property tax. | — | — |
| Property tax as a share of all revenue How much of the budget rides on local property values, and therefore on local votes. | 35.0% | 45.2% |
| Long-term debt already owed, per student The balance at the end of the year, for scale. Repaid over decades, so it is a commitment made by earlier boards rather than a bill arriving now. | Locked | Locked |
| Debt service as a share of spending Interest plus principal repaid this year, against total spending. This is the part of the debt that is being paid now, out of money that would otherwise reach a classroom. | Locked | Locked |
| New long-term debt issued, per student Money borrowed during fiscal year 2024. What this figure does and does not tell you is set out under the table. | $5,723 | $0 |
- Santa Monica-Malibu Unified: issued no new long-term debt in fiscal year 2024. That is a reported zero, not a gap in the data.
- A figure in the borrowing row is not a bond voters approved. It records debt issued, and that includes refinancing existing debt at a new rate — which changes nothing about what a district owes — as well as certificates of participation and lease-revenue debt, which in many states a board can issue with no referendum at all. To find out what was actually on a ballot, check the county election office.
- Debt is repaid over decades. A large balance per student is a commitment made by earlier boards and earlier voters, not a bill arriving this year. The debt service row above it is the part being paid now.
Who sits on the board
Pasadena Unified board of education
- Tina Fredericks — District 6
- Dr. Yarma Velázquez — District 7
- Patrice Marshall McKenzie — District 5
- Kimberly Kenne — District 1
- Jennifer Hall Lee — District 2
- Michelle Richardson Bailey — District 3
- Scott Harden — District 4
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-25. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified board of education
- Jon Kean — School Board Member
- Maria Leon-Vazquez — School Board Member
- Laurie Lieberman — School Board Vice President
- Alicia Mignano — School Board President
- Stacy Rouse — School Board Member
- Jennifer Smith — School Board Member
- Richard Tahvildaran-Jesswein — School Board Member
Read from the district’s own board page on 2026-08-25. Boards change; the district’s page is the current record, not ours.
These seats are elected, and what this board decides — the budget, the attendance boundaries, the calendar — is decided at a meeting the public may attend. The district’s own board page, linked above, is where it publishes the schedule and the agenda. We do not hold meeting dates or contact details for these people.
Funding measures on the ballot
Pasadena Unified
$2B approved by voters across 4 measures.
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-05 | Bond · Prop. Measure RWith funds that cannot be taken by the State, shall Pasadena Unified School District's measure to expand classrooms for Scien ce, Technology, Engineer…With funds that cannot be taken by the State, shall Pasadena Unified School District's measure to expand classrooms for Scien ce, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Math; upgrade Career Education labs; replace leaky roofs; and repair deteriorating electrical, plumbing, heating, and air - conditioning systems be adopted, authorizing $900 million of bonds with audits, legal rates, average levies below $59 per $100,000 of assessed valuation while outstanding (raising $57 million annually), citizen oversight, state matching funds eligibility and public disclosure of spending? |
$900M | 65.3% | Passed |
Locked 4 earlier measures in this district’s history are not shown.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2025-06-03.
What this state publishes: School district bonds and parcel taxes as the California Elections Data Archive compiles them for the Secretary of State. Bonds carry the principal; parcel taxes are quoted per parcel and carry no comparable dollar figure. Recalls and advisory questions are not included.
CA published no results for 2010, so a measure put to voters in that year would not appear here. That is a gap in the state’s own publishing.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
$2.2B approved by voters across 6 measures.
| Election | Measure | Amount | Yes | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-11-05 | Bond · Prop. Measure MMTo remove asbestos/lead/hazardous materials where needed; fix leaky roofs, plumbing, inadequate wiring, safety/security systems; upgrade classrooms, l…To remove asbestos/lead/hazardous materials where needed; fix leaky roofs, plumbing, inadequate wiring, safety/security systems; upgrade classrooms, labs, libraries, instructional technology for competitive college and careers; shall School Facilities Improvement District No. 2 (Malibu Schools) of Santa Monica- Malibu Unified School District’s measure be adopted authorizing $395,000,000 of bonds at legal interest rates, levying 4¢ per $100 assessed value (raising $22 million annually) while bonds are outstanding, with citizens' oversight, annual audits, and all funds for Malibu public schools only? |
$395M | 62.3% | Passed |
Locked 10 earlier measures in this district’s history are not shown.
From the state’s own election file. Latest election on record: 2025-06-03.
What this state publishes: School district bonds and parcel taxes as the California Elections Data Archive compiles them for the Secretary of State. Bonds carry the principal; parcel taxes are quoted per parcel and carry no comparable dollar figure. Recalls and advisory questions are not included.
CA published no results for 2010, so a measure put to voters in that year would not appear here. That is a gap in the state’s own publishing.
- A vote share is not an outcome. What it takes to carry varies by state and by measure — in some states a bond needs a supermajority and a minimum turnout while a levy on the same ballot needs half, so a clear majority can still lose. Every outcome shown here is copied from the state’s own election file, and the rule that applied is stated with the coverage above. Where that file stated no outcome we show whatever count it published and no verdict, rather than working one out from the percentage — and some states publish the ballot question without ever recording a count, so a blank there is a number nobody printed.
- These are the measures a district put to its voters, not its whole tax bill. A property tax bill also carries county, city and state levies that have nothing to do with schools, and in most states a school board can issue some kinds of debt with no vote at all.
The detailed figures for Pasadena Unified and Santa Monica-Malibu Unified
The verdict, the headline dollar, the funding shares, who is served and every comparability caveat are free above, and stay free. What is behind the lock is the detail you would want before acting on any of it:
- capital spending per student
- total revenue and total current spending, and the funding mix in dollars (the percentage shares stay free)
- the ten-line per-student breakdown of where the money goes
- counselor and administrator ratios, and the total salary bill
- the debt behind the risk flags — per student, and as a share of spending
- the enrollment process — deadlines, appointments and proof of residency
- the full ballot history: 14 more bonds and levies, with the amounts
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Pasadena Unified on its own · Santa Monica-Malibu Unified on its own