The fluctuating school availability of Malibu campuses this month left some local residents concerned, including one day spent in the dark.
On Jan. 23, Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District intended on bringing students back to Malibu Elementary, Malibu Middle and Malibu High Schools; following the reopening of Webster Elementary on Jan. 21. However, while the reopening did take place, power at the three schools was shut off by Southern California Edison (SCE), leading to classes under the blackout conditions.
After power was restored at the campuses the afternoon of Jan. 20, SMMUSD had intentions of a full-go day in Malibu, with Dr. Antonio Shelton stating during the Jan. 23 Board of Education meeting that school openings were requested by “many families” due to loss of instructional time.
Shelton added that SCE did not give the district a warning about power outages, bemoaning the lack of communication and requesting better messaging from SCE in the future. With the outages not changing, SMMUSD decided to hold school “based on a variety of conditions and parent input to reopen schools.”
In a separate message to the community Jan. 23, Shelton said the district has battery backup for “short term technology interruptions,” but those do not provide enough power for a full day of school. In response, temporary generators were provided to MES, MMS and MHS on an emergency basis that day, though Shelton stated that a process for permanent alternative power “typically takes years” to design, permit and construct systems.
“Given the lack of (power) closures prior to this December and the multiple causes for closures, providing emergency supplemental power to the schools has not been a priority,” Shelton wrote. “Generators would not have helped get schools open in most conditions.”
That day in the dark was rough for MMS 6th grade teacher Julie Jones, who said the “spotty at best” cell service in the area left herself and students without communication tools.
“When I’m there in charge of the safety of 25-plus kids for five hours a day, it’s very stressful to say the least … when we say no power, we really should say no power, internet or phones,” Jones told the Board of Education.
Much of the Malibu contingent was downright angry about the prolonged closures and the Jan. 23 powerless day, with Malibu City Councilmember Haylynn Conrad adding that “fires are here and not going away” and the district should be better prepared moving forward.
Conrad pledged her support in any move the district makes to achieve alternative power, saying “every school in every community should be in the safest building.”
After all Malibu schools reopened Jan. 24, the four campuses were closed again on Monday, this time due to dangerous road conditions and challenges with access to schools. Road closures have been a constant struggle during the duration of the Palisades Fire, preventing staff and buses from getting to Malibu campuses.
Malibu campuses were reopened on Tuesday, and continued to stay open throughout the week. In response to the frustration around prolonged closures, Boardmember Jon Kean recalled being told during the Woolsey Fire in 2018 that the district waited too long for action, now hearing officials “acted too quickly.”
“We’re never going to be able to predict fire, so I think we just need to work on the systems we have in place,” Kean said. “If we had had school when this fire broke out, I don’t know what would’ve happened. To the people here who think that the well-being of their children and the academic experiences of their children are not important to us, if you got that impression, I sincerely apologize. If we did anything as a board, it’s for the safety of children.”
