The perils of the Palisades Fire have continued to take a toll on local schools, with another closure of some Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) campuses set for Monday.
All SMMUSD Malibu campuses (Malibu Elementary School, Webster Elementary School, Malibu Middle School and Malibu High School) will remain closed on Monday, making it a fifth straight school day closure for the schools. SMMUSD officials stated that a decision will be made by Sunday at 5 p.m. on Santa Monica schools’ availability for Monday.
Superintendent Dr. Antonio Shelton sent a video message to the SMMUSD community on Friday, stating that reasons for the continued closures include evacuations in the area, dangerous air quality, road closures and power outages.
“Many of you have dealt with loss, displacement, or you have lost your actual home, and I wanted to let you know that (SMMUSD) is here for you,” Shelton said. “Your health and safety, and specifically the safety of our students and our staff is always, and will always be, a top priority.”
Shelton added that the Malibu contingent of the district has “been through a lot,” particularly the students of Webster who were temporarily displaced due to December’s Franklin Fire. Webster students returned for one minimum day on Monday before the campus closed once more.
During the week, SMMUSD staff has been serving Grab and Go Meals to students and families at several campuses. Another educational outfit, Saint Monica Preparatory, will be hosting a relief effort supply drive at its 1030 Lincoln Blvd. campus from 12 to 4 p.m. on Saturday.
Santa Monica College will continue remote operations for all classes and services through Sunday due to the ongoing fire impacts. Emergency personnel will remain on-site and actively monitor conditions.
“Our hearts are with all who have lost loved ones, homes, irreplaceable pots, and personal treasures,” SMC President Kathryn Jeffery said Friday. “We are tremendously grateful to the first responders and everyone working to mitigate the fires that have ravaged the beautiful communities we call home. In the spirit of how we do things at SMC, we will work together to navigate the tremendous losses of our SMC family to find our way through this.”
