The following was a letter sent to Superintendent Sandra Lyon and the Santa Monica/Malibu Unified School District
Dear Sandra Lyon and SMMUSD Board members,
This is not the first time I’ve contacted you and I am assuming from the conversations still going on for almost two years now, it will not be the last.
We still live in Malibu, but like so many, we have chosen to remove our children because the school is unsafe. My children were experiencing symptoms of PCB exposure — they now do not have any and have not since we removed them. I could walk away from this problem and say it is not mine because we’ve moved our children, but that would be unethical.
First, this is my community, and second, my kids really would like to come back to their school. I have a senior who will probably not be able to graduate from her school because of this ridiculous situation. I can’t sit idly by and watch injustice be served. I only feel sorry for the community members whose children are still going to Malibu because they feel like they do not have a choice.
There are solutions to every problem. I can’t believe the rhetoric and lies that keep being spun by Environ and your board. Perhaps they are lies you tell yourself but honestly, it’s apparent to all of us who keep pleading with the district to do the right thing. It’s even more apparent to the rest of the nation who relocates children to other places to educate once PCBs are found because it’s a federal law. Remember, a lawsuit is in place because the district did not handle this in an expeditious manner and treat it like it is the law. In fact, the district took the law into their own hands, wasting millions of dollars to do what was so unnecessary at the expense of us all, including the district. It’s sad when these kinds of things happen.
We want our community back — one we can be proud of. You can do the right thing, do thorough site testing, remediate all PCBs, relocate our children while this is done rebuild the school and rebuild the communities faith in your district once again by doing this right thing.
Cheryl Torrey