In November 2006, the residents of Malibu and Santa Monica passed Measure BB, a $267 million bond measure that addresses the facilities’ needs of our school district. The focus of BB was secondary school improvements. Santa Monica High School broke ground on its state-of-the-art technology and science building in December of 2011. Last month, Lincoln Middle School celebrated the completion of their modernization project-new classrooms, science labs and library. John Adams broke ground in November. Edison Language Academy, which is building an entirely new campus, broke ground last year as well. You may wonder, why is Malibu 19 months behind schedule? It is a question that baffles us in the school community who long to see our children attend schools that reflect Malibu’s strong reliance on public education.
Malibu High School was allocated $27 million to build four new science labs; a renovated Middle School; added bathrooms; a state-of-the-art library/ computer tech center/commons area, and for the relocation of administration offices. Each month of delay absorbs tens of thousands of dollars of soft costs that take valuable dollars from the building project itself.
After four years of planning and more than two years winding through approvals from Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District and the California Coastal Commission, Malibu High’s award-winning building plans were finally approved last June by the State Division of Architects. The approval by the SDA was cause for celebration after six years of waiting to break ground on the Malibu High facilities. The project is now ready to begin with Malibu City Planning Commission recommendation, the final step on this terribly long road.
Last August, after reviewing the approved plans, the Malibu Planning Commission withheld their recommendation. Instead, they presented three contingencies. The district has spent the last nine months and $1 million addressing these concerns.
Monday night the plan will be resubmitted to the Planning Commission for a full hearing again. Further delays will further whittle away the funds that have been set aside for Malibu High and put us further behind schedule.
Please register your enthusiastic support for this improvement project. It can be viewed at fip. smmusd.org/malibuhigh.html. Attend the Planning Commission meeting at City Hall on Monday at 6:30 p.m. Malibu should not have to be last in line to have its projects brought to fruition.
Malibu should not have to wait for the improvements citizens here have been paying for since 2007. Many of us who had sixth graders in 2006, hoped to break ground on the project before our kids graduated, sadly, that dream is over. But another dream still lives. The dream to have a state-of-the-art high school that makes our city proud.
Heather Anderson, Parent of a senior at Malibu High School and parent member of the Malibu High BB Site Committee