Santa Monica and Malibu School District Superintendent Antonio Shelton spoke to students taking Public Education in America March 12. The course, taught by Head of School Laura Ross, focuses on issues surrounding the public education system in the United States, such as teacher unionization, funding for materials and program expansions and historical racial segregation. Shelton has 23 years of experience in the education field and 18 years of experience as an administrator, and he served as principal at Indian Hill High School prior to becoming Superintendent.
Shelton said one of the biggest challenges his school district faces is how it will acquire funding, as it is one of two school districts in Los Angeles County not funded by the Federal Government.
“There are so many unknowns around the Department of Education and what’s funded and what will not be funded,” Shelton said. “We don’t know what funding programs will continue, which leads to difficulties in planning for the future. Because we are unaware of whether we will have any money coming from the federal government, it is difficult to create a budget. When budgeting, we have to consider things like our food sources, our special education programs and what the impacts of how much funding we get will have on them.”
Ross said hearing from Shelton gave students valuable insight into the complexities of running a public school district.
“I learned that [being Superintendent] is a really difficult and political job,” Ross said. “We were so lucky to get the chance to hear about all of the things Shelton has to deal with in order to keep his schools running, especially all of the interfacing with city planning officials and the fire department, for example. We learned about all of the things behind the scenes that keep a school district running.”
Ross said in comparison to the way private education functions, Shelton must be much more involved in local politics in order to garner support.
“The school also has a board that the President [of School Rick Commons] reports to, but the board members are not politically elected,” Laura Ross said. “Shelton is dealing with politics so much more than us because he, as superintendent, has to navigate the local political climate in order to [receive funding]. He’s clearly very skilled at that, but I think the politics he deals with is one of the major differences [between public and private]. Our board is responsible for our long-term governance and strategic planning, but they are not beholden to outside entities like voters.”
Graham Ross ’26, who is in the class, said he has thoroughly enjoyed his time in the directed study so far and appreciates the opportunity to learn about public education from different perspectives.
“This year, we’ve attempted to answer the question of what public education really is,” Graham Ross said. “We’ve had a few speakers to give us insight into this question. As somebody who has gone to a lot of private schools for my whole life, public education is something I don’t really know about, and it’s always good to learn about new things.”
Laura Ross said she believes understanding public education is essential for students, regardless of where they attend school.
“I think it’s important to learn about public education because I think it is critical for a thriving democracy to have an educated citizenry,” Laura Ross said. “There are so many places where there are a lot of inequities in how education is carried out in this country, and I felt like that’s an important thing [to teach]. It’s one of the biggest civil rights issues of our time, and it’s really important for people, especially people who have the opportunity to go to an independent school, to understand what’s going on.”
