New Malibu High interim Principal David Jackson is standing by comments he allegedly made during an Aug. 1 department chair meeting in which he warned teachers they could lose their jobs if they refused to go back to their classrooms when school begins Aug. 19.
In a press release issued by a D.C.-based group representing a number of Malibu High and Middle School teachers on Thursday, Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER), quoted Jackson as having told teachers, “If you don’t go back on the first day I’ll give you a warning, if you don’t go back on the second day I will write you up, if you don’t go back on the third day I’ll write you up again, if you don’t go back on the fourth day, I’ll fire you.”
When reached by phone on Thursday, Jackson said he did tell teachers they could lose their jobs, but that the comment was taken out of context by PEER.
“If I assign them to a room, that’s where they need to teach our kids. The question came up [during the meeting], ‘What if they refuse to go?'” Jackson recalled. “I went through the progressive discipline policy…The district has a progressive discipline policy… first is a verbal warning, then a written warning, another warning and in some cases that can lead to written termination.”
If a building and/or classroom has been deemed safe by the Environmental Protection Agency and Santa Monica-Malibu district officials, Jackson said teachers would be assigned to occupy those rooms. Five buildings have reopened in recent weeks after the district-contracted company Environ cleaned, and tested air and wipe samples.
“None of my kids or teachers go into a room unless they are passed or cleared through what the EPA standards are,” Jackson said.
Four buildings remain closed but Jackson and the district hope to have them reopened by the first day of classes.
PEER, however, argued that it would be illegal for the principal or district to fire teachers who refuse to work “in unhealthful or illegal conditions.” The group believes caulk in most of the rooms contains human carcinogens known as PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Despite demands that the district go beyond air and wipe tests by further testing caulk samples, the district has not.
