Devyn Hamilton
SMDP Intern
With the prospect of Palisades Charter High School (PCHS) moving to Santa Monica in the near future, Santa Monica High School students are generally nonplussed about their potential new neighbors but some are concerned about the City’s lack of existing athletic facilities while others look forward to new social opportunities.
The Palisades Fire destroyed parts of the PCHS campus and officials have been searching for a new location to resume in-person learning for the roughly 3,000 students. Officials recently disclosed the vacant Sears building in Downtown Santa Monica as a potential location if permits and contracts can be approved.
Both students and staff have said they are anxious to get out of remote learning and back in person but an exact timeline will be dependent on the renovations the SEARs building would need to be suitable for students.
The potential proximity to Santa Monica High School has raised questions about shared facilities and the intermingling of the two student bodies. Feelings among the student population are mixed.
Several student athletes spoke to The Daily Press saying they are concerned about space at the District’s athletic facilities.
“I don’t think we have enough space for another team–we can barely fit the Samohi water polo/swim team, the TSM swim, and polo kids. If we add another team to that we would definitely not have enough space, the girls TSM team already has to share practice with the youth team,” said Lyla Rozenblum, a sophomore on the girls water polo team.
According to Carey Upton, SMMUSD’s chief operations officer, the district is already sharing facilities with several Palisades organizations pushed out by the fire, including PCHS. He said that while the District does have limited space, it will work to accommodate Palisades students as best it can.
“I mean one of the challenges at Samohi is we have 54 or 55 sports teams. So we use all of our facilities completely, and even then, soccer, lacrosse, football all have to share. You know, everybody's sharing facilities, but we'll do what we can,” said Upton.
He explained that the district is looking to help Pali as much as possible.
“I would generally say we're relatively tight, that between the school uses, the city uses and other permitted uses, through our facility use agreement and permitting, we are pretty well used. I mean, you know, more than most school districts,” he said. “But the question is, you know, can we move things around? Can we share some space? Can we adjust here and there? I mean, we'll do what we can. And we certainly, it's not like we have fields on fields or gyms just sitting open, but we will, we will do what we can.”
Besides the sharing of facilities, there’s also social interaction that would happen between schools. Many Samohi students who spoke to the Daily Press said they had friends at Pali who they’d now be able to see more often with the new proximity. A Pali student who transferred to Samohi after the fires, Lyla Mordujovich, spoke about her opinion.
“It's good for me, because I have a lot of friends who live in Topanga, and because the PCH closed, it takes three hours to get to their house, so if they come down here, it's easier,” she said. “I mean, space wise, I feel like a few more, maybe 1,000 or 2,000 kids coming [to the city] won't be negative.”
Among non-athlete students, the general consensus is that if Pali needs Samohi’s help, the school should give it to them. In fact, some students are excited at the possibility of new friends and acquaintances.
“I don’t think it’s a big deal,” said sophomore Oscar Hughes. “At the most, Pali High kids are going to add to our community and provide new experiences for us.”
