Meet Miles Warner, running for School Board for Santa Monica-Malibu
There are seven members on this board who set policy and oversee the operation and management of public schools within Santa Monica and Malibu. Miles has lived in both cities, so he believes that he is in a great position to understand the needs of both cities.
Miles grew up in Santa Monica and attended public schools there throughout his early education. Then, throughout college he interned at the Federal Capitol for the Energy and Commerce Committee. Into his adult life, he began working in the arts for 10 years, between NYC and LA! Most recently, he began real estate management. Miles believes that his extensive experience makes him a good candidate for this position because he knows how to budget and understands how development works.
Miles has a close connection to the school board he is running to be a part of. He has an 8 year old son with special needs along with a 5 year old daughter. His son needs the support of the public school system, so his family understands just how important public schools are. Miles began getting more involved with his children’s school when he was elected to the school site council and started engaging more with principals and teachers. This is when he started to gain a better understanding of the issues within the district.
The wellbeing of the children is a high priority for Miles. One issue that he sees within his school district is the misuse of funds. We learned that the district is building a huge, multi-million dollar gym facility at Santa Monica high school while other schools within the district are quite literally falling apart. Miles’ kids are learning out of temporary classrooms and another nearby school was shut down due to mold issues. Miles wants to make sure that the right issues are prioritized within the district and that their funds are used to take care of the most pressing problems first.
Another topic Miles is focused on is bringing mental health support for kids into schools. Instead of focusing on showy legacy projects, Miles believes the board members should be thinking about what services the kids need—especially during these current times. With the threat of school shootings on many parents’ minds and the developmental and learning issues caused by the ongoing pandemic, there is more of a need for improved services than ever. Growing up in Santa Monica schools, Miles experienced first hand the benefit of having support from the teachers surrounding him. When he was struggling, they were always there to take care of him. He says that he owes a lot of his success to this community of educators who made sure that he was always taken care of when he was going through family issues. Now he wants to give back to the community that helped him so much.
Miles wants to propose bringing social workers into schools to connect them with high risk kids with special needs or home problems. His goal is to make sure that no kid feels ashamed for needing help and that they won’t have to ask in the first place. He also aims to reduce class sizes and allocate money to the necessary school supplies that teachers need. Miles believes that his background makes him a good candidate for school board because he can identify the changes that these schools need and find ways towards making them happen!
Miles wants people to know that Santa Monica is a great community to live in with friendly people and amazing beach weather. He is grateful for every day that he gets to live in his community. Every night at dinner, Miles and his children list something that they are grateful for and his answer is almost always, “I’m so grateful for where I live.” His family also has a dog who is named Haku, after a character from Spirited Away!