While construction at one Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) elementary campus site began in December, another elementary site’s new conceptual plan was given a go-ahead to move forward by the district’s Board of Education recently.
On December 8, 2023, a groundbreaking ceremony was held at Will Rogers Learning Community, beginning Phase 1 of its campus plan. A little over a month later, a Board of Education meeting on Jan. 18 supported an updated "Master Plan" at Franklin Elementary School. Both projects aim to support students at the Transitional Kindergarten (TK) and Kindergarten levels, as well as improve outdoor learning spaces.
The Will Rogers project is set to provide three new TK classrooms and four new Kindergarten classrooms, part of the district’s growing commitment to TK programs. SMMUSD began enrolling TK students in the 2022-23 school year, mirroring statewide expansion that aims to make the grade the entry level into California public schools. The project also holds outside improvements such as outdoor learning spaces, basketball courts, a playground and a new turf track and field featuring cork infill.
According to an article by Amorim Sports, granulated cork is growing popular as an infill in artificial turf, stating it offers "significant advantages over plastic or rubber-based synthetic infills" such as functional sustainability and comfort.
"Given cork’s natural touch and feel, synthetic turf with ... cork infill is the closest thing to natural turf and offers great playing conditions," the Amorim article states. "In addition, for avoiding overheating during use, a cork infill makes a positive contribution to players’ performance and comfort, given its ability to absorb moisture."
A district report on the Will Rogers project echoes those benefits, also stating that cork infill is a superior option to crumb rubber, which "raises concerns about microplastic pollution and potential health risks."
"SMMUSD’s commitment to sustainability extends to every facet of operations, including the composition of sports field turf," wrote SMMUSD Communications Specialist Esmi Careaga. "The decision to embrace cork infill stems from a dedication to providing a safe, high-performance playing surface while minimizing pollution and potential health risks."
During Phase 1 at Will Rogers, eating and play areas have been moved to the north part of the campus to make way for the new track and field. A restroom building and two portable classrooms adjacent to the current basketball courts will be demolished, and a modular restroom building will be made available in its place beginning in February. Also in February, through the end of the school year, students will be able to access adjacent play structures on the north side of the school.
At the Board of Education meeting presentation of the Franklin plan, approval was given for the Master Plan to move forward with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) process, something plans for the school have gone through before. The school’s campus plan, initially approved in fall of 2022, was forced to change after the CEQA process determined that a proposed Maker Space Building would remove portable buildings needed for interim classroom housing.
Another issue halting the Franklin plan was the California Geological Survey notifying the district that an earthquake fault was believed to exist within the school site, though subsequent geological tests proved there was no such fault.
SMMUSD Chief Operations Officer Carey Upton presented the updated plan alongside representatives from dsk Architects, with Upton calling Franklin a "very tight site" due to local housing. For its end of supporting TK-Kindergarten classrooms, the SMMUSD plan for Franklin is to shift those classrooms from its current location on the corner of 25th Street and Montana Avenue, to a dedicated space on the southern end of the campus adjacent to Idaho Avenue. Construction of this building would take place in the first phase, with the original TK-K space to be replaced with a new parking lot.
Before giving a show of support to the project, Board members and Upton discussed how they will need to be cautious of enrollment numbers at the school, and how enrollment projections in the coming years could alter plans in future phases. The discussion also pointed to Roosevelt Elementary School enrollment numbers as something to watch as that site goes through its own campus planning.
