Early totals released by the Santa Monica-Malibu school district indicate Malibu’s Middle School enrollment has taken a hit in the wake of environmental concerns.
School started Tuesday, and 28 students from last year’s sixth-grade class were no longer enrolled at Malibu Middle School as seventh-graders, district spokesperson Valerie Martinez said Friday. She acknowledged that some may have been placed in private schools or home-schooling programs because of concerns over the school’s environmental safety, but said others may have moved from the area or be traveling. The numbers could change, she stressed.
“There’s probably been an impact [from environmental concerns], but given the way numbers shift,” she said, “…it’s really hard to make the leap that we have masses of people pulling their kids out.”
Overall, enrollment at the middle school is about the same.
“Last year the middle school had 471 [students],” Martinez said, “and this year it has 472 [students].”
As of Friday, an exact tally for the number of students in each middle school and high school grade had yet to be released. Official enrollment numbers will be out in October, according to Martinez.