Supermodel and Malibu mom Cindy Crawford, speaking on behalf of herself and husband Rande Gerber, Tuesday evening offered to foot the bill of the PCB cleanup at Malibu High School. She spoke during an evening rally in Malibu’s Civic Center.
“If money is an issue, Rande, my husband, and I have decided that we would happily pay for proper and thorough testing of all pre-1979 classrooms,” Crawford said to the crowd gathered outside of the Malibu Library.
“This is if they will let us. I don’t know how they could possibly say no,” Crawford added.
Crawford was speaking to an enthusiastic crowd of hundreds of MHS students, parents, Malibu citizens and celebrities, who were rallying in support of Malibu Unites, a nonprofit dedicated to proper disposal of PCBs at Malibu High School and Middle School.
PCB concerns arose in October 2013 when several Malibu High School teachers expressed fear that the diagnosis of three teachers with thyroid cancer could be related to contaminants on campus. PCBs were a common building material in the mid-20th century that have later been proven to cause health problems in those exposed to them.
Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District board member Oscar de la Torre came to voice his support for Malibu Unites, clarifying that he was not speaking as a member of the school board.
He called for mobile classrooms at the high school to ensure students and faculty would not be in danger, “even if I’m the only one calling for it.”
His words drew an audible positive response from the crowd.
Other notable speakers at the rally included another local celebrity and Malibu parent Josh Malina and actor Ed Begley, who in his words is an “outside agitator from the 818.”
CJ Snyder, a former Malibu student, as well as lawyer Christina Georgio and environmental specialist Kurt Fehling also spoke. Malibu Unites president Jennifer deNicola emceed the event.