Malibu High School this week will inaugurate its fourth principal in the past four years. But according to the school district, that number will soon become five.
Interim principal Patricia Cairns will take the helm while the district continues its search to fill the permanent position, following, the resignation of former principal, Dr. Brandon Gallagher following his first year at the school. The district in a press release said it plans to recommend a candidate to the school board on Sept. 1. The board must then approve that candidate before a start date can be announced.
Five principals in four years is an inarguably excessive turnover. But one question that remains arguable is, why has there been such a high principal renewal rate at Malibu High School? Though all former principals interviewed said they very much enjoyed their experience leading Malibu High School, they cited the school’s geographic location as its chief challenge.
“I think that one of the major challenges is geography,” former MHS Principal Mark Kelly, who led the school from 2004 to 2012, said in an interview last week. Kelly now serves as interim district superintendent. “Most candidates, given the high cost of living, will find it difficult to live in the community, which adds a minimum of 30 minutes to one’s commute each way — likely more. If there is a factor deterring candidates, the challenge to live close is probably one that carries weight.”
Dr. Michael Matthews, who served as Malibu High’s first principal for 11 years, said living in the community he served made a significant difference in his personal and professional quality of life.
“[Living in Malibu] is quite unaffordable for most public school employees,” Matthews said in an interview last week. “When I began work here in 1993, there were a large number of employees at MHS who lived in Malibu. That is not at all the case any more, and I don’t see that changing in the near future. A high school principal’s job involves a whole lot of night activities and very long days. Living in the community meant that I could go home and connect with my family, even just for a little bit, before going back to evening activities. If you live outside of Malibu, it means you cannot do that.”
Matthews now serves as superintendent of schools for the Manhattan Beach Unified School District and commutes 41 miles to work every day.
Beverly Hills High School Principal David Jackson, who served as Malibu High’s interim principal from 2014 to 2015, recalls struggling with the commute.
“It took me 45 minutes [to get to MHS] leaving the house at 6 a.m.,” Jackson said in an interview last week. “My home commute was an hour and a half to two hours long [due to traffic]. It’s a great place to work except for the distance.”
The commute to and from work is exacerbated by the fact that school board meetings are held in Santa Monica, the city with which Malibu shares a school district.
“The geography of [Santa Monica Malibu School District] is certainly challenging,” Matthews said, adding that although he had a spectacular experience and relationship with the school board, “I don’t know anybody who relishes commuting up and down Pacific Coast Highway.”
Jackson said an ideal Malibu High School principal should have experience with middle and high school students — a unique challenge for some administrators.
“The kids at Malibu High are spectacular, and the right principal for this school should be someone special who has to understand that sixth graders who are going to come up and hug you, are different from juniors and seniors who are 16 and 17 years old,” Jackson said. “You deal differently with a middle school students than with high school students.”
Another matter that has received significant media coverage and that might make the MHS principal position less desirable is the school’s well-publicized PCB issue.
“District officials, our environmental experts and state officials have all stated that they would be comfortable enrolling their own kids at Malibu High School or [Juan] Cabrillo,” Kelly said, adding that former MHS Principal Dr. Brandon Gallagher “did not live in the area but chose to enroll his two children in Malibu High School instead of the high-performing school in his neighborhood.” Gallagher declined to comment on all aspects of this story.
Matthews, whose son attends Malibu High School, said he feels that his son’s safety, and the safety of all MHS students, is a primary goal of the school district.
While some members of the community have voiced that aging infrastructure and high level of parent involvement could also deter a principal from wanting to stay at MHS, former principals Kelly, Matthews and Jackson say that while some parts of the school do need to be updated, neither factors negatively affect their ability to do their job.
“People warned me about how demanding Malibu parents are, but it’s not true,” Jackson said. “They’re demanding about what they feel is best for their kids. I think parents set very high expectations, which I think is good because we want kids to reach high. Everyone wants their kid to do great. It’s really a unique and wonderful educational environment.”
Jerry Block, who served as MHS principal from 2012 to 2014, could not be reached for comment.
