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Malibu surfside news | January 10, 2019 | 7
SMMUSD court extension comes with ‘teeth’
Judge OKs five-year
extension for PCB
remediation, with
exceptions
Lauren Coughlin, Editor
As 2018 came to an end
and the clock ticked closer
to 2019, the year in which
all polychlorinated biphenyls
in excess of 50 parts
per million were to be removed
from Malibu High
School and Juan Cabrillo
Elementary School, SM-
MUSD was given a reprieve.
U.S. District Court Judge
Percy Anderson approved
the district’s Nov. 19 request
for a five-year extension
for PCB removal in light
of its plans for reconstruction.
But the Dec. 20 ruling
comes with guidelines
that the prior ruling did not
possess.
“He did this with a lot
of restrictions that actually
gives the judgement
teeth, which is a positive
thing,” said Jennifer deNicola,
president of America
Unites for Kids, the plaintiff
in the case.
Though the district now
has until Dec. 31, 2024 to
fully amend all PCB issues,
Dec. 31, 2019 remains a
valid deadline for certain
aspects.
Under the latest ruling,
after Dec. 31, 2019, SM-
MUSD may not use any office,
classroom or structure
at either school which was
constructed prior to 1979
unless windows, doors and
vents with PCBs beyond
50 ppm are caulked; shellac
plywood walls above
the threshold are painted;
or flooring in rooms with
PCBs above 50 ppm are
patched, encapsulated or
replaced.
Previously, the ruling
only specified the need to
address PCBs in windows
and doors, deNicola explained.
SMMUSD also must
conduct air and wipe testing,
and retain a third-party
professional, selected by
America Unites and SM-
MUSD alike, to oversee
compliance.
“Now, we’ll really
know what’s going on
along the way,” deNicola
said.
The judge further orders
that the district must
transfer classes and individuals
at the Malibu campus,
as the district opens
modernized spaces “so
that the use of spaces that
have not had window and
door systems replaced is
minimized.”
Faculty and staff in MHS
Building J (the old gym)
also must be offered an
alternative space, per the
order.
The ruling also mandates
that the district must
employ best management
practices as required by the
Environmental Protection
Agency.
Prior to the extension
request being approved,
46 SMMUSD community
members, including teachers
and parents, filed signed
declarations with the court
on Dec. 3 stating that best
management practices for
cleaning and minimizing
PCBs were not followed at
all times.
SMMUSD disagrees.
“The results of ongoing
testing confirm these
practices are maintaining
the intended positive effect
on indoor health quality
as recommended by the
EPA,” said Gail Pinsker,
SMMUSD community and
public relations officer.
Going forward, deNicola
said Malibu teachers will
play a key role in ensuring
practices are being implemented.
The individuals’ declarations
also stated that
they supported Measure M
— the $195 million bond
measure that passed this
November and will support
reconstruction of the Malibu
High School campus —
but were unaware that the
approval of the bond would
mean the district planned
to request a five-year
extension.
In a Dec. 18 letter signed
by Superintendent Ben
Drati regarding the extension
request, Drati stated
that “district staff thought
they made the consequences
of [reconstruction]
clear, though it seems the
timeline was not clearly
understood by the community.”
DeNicola counts herself
among supporters of the
bond measure.
“In the end, I supported
the bond measure, and one
thing I feel very strongly
about is $195 million is a
lot of money and that the
district with that budget,
and not asking for more
from the community, they
can rebuild that school
— all of it,” deNicola
said.
Drati explains that the
conceptual planning for
the new campus — a process
that will including
various meetings with
community members,
teachers, administrators
and stakeholders — is expected
to be completed in
the fall or winter of 2019.
Drati, in his letter, further
states that the first phase
of construction should
take roughly 16 months,
with a planned completion
date of spring 2021. Then
comes the submission of
the project to the Division
of the State Architect for
plan review and anticipated
permitting in the spring
of 2022.
“Construction of Phase I
is likely to take around two
and a half years, depending
on the final scope, around
the end of 2024, but it is
too early in the process to
precisely estimate the timeline,”
Drati’s letter states.
“At the conclusion of Phase
I, it is anticipated that the
buildings that are subject
to the court order will be
demolished.”
In the end, deNicola said
America Unites for Kids is
disappointed that the fiveyear
extension was granted,
but it is not all bad news.
“We will be, by no choice
of our own, following the
judge’s orders and working
with the district to see
that all of his stipulations
are adhered to,” deNicola
said. “And if they are not
followed, we will return
to court and seek enforcement.”
Special Malibu meeting on sustainability plan scheduled
Action to be taken
at future School
Board meeting
Submitted by SMMUSD
The Santa Monica-
Malibu Unified School
District scheduled a
meeting in Malibu to
gather input on the districtwide
sustainability
plan.
The meeting is planned
for 5-7 p.m. Tuesday, Jan.
15, in the Malibu High
School library, 30215
Morning View Drive. The
meeting will include a
summary presentation of
the draft plan and a chance
for public comment on its
implementation.
The Plan for Districtwide
Sustainability, which
has been in development
for a year, is a roadmap
for uniting existing initiatives
with future projects
and incorporating sustainability
into the curriculum
for SMMUSD students. It
also outlines the integration
of sustainability into district
operations, resource
efficiency (energy, water,
consumable materials like
paper), waste management
(such as reducing the use
of plastics), transportation,
food and nutrition and other
programs.
The plan was developed
with input from
students, teachers,
staff and the Board of
Education.
The Board of Education
will approve the draft plan
at a future school board
meeting.
SMMUSD has been a
leader in sustainability efforts,
through installation
of solar at many school
sites and student education
projects. Caroline
Coster, the district’s sustainability
coordinator,
said the detailed plan goes
much further by making
sustainability a part of
the district’s operational
fabric.
“We’ve had a great
start with very good programs,”
Coster said in November.
“We are proud of
how far this plan can take
the district and look forward
to hearing from parents
and citizens regarding
implementation at these
meetings.”
The presentation will be
made by representatives
from Cumming Corp., the
district’s sustainability
consultant. One previous
meeting was held in Santa
Monica in November. The
originally scheduled meeting
for Malibu in November
was postponed due to
the Woolsey Fire.
As part of SMMUSD’s
sustainability commitment,
a public energyuse
dashboard is now
online.
The SMMUSD Energy
Dashboard allows people
to view power use across
the district by site, including
the percentage of energy
coming from solar,
and allowing comparison
to previous years. There
also is a link on www.sm
musd.org.