Santa Monica–Malibu Unified School District (SMMUSD) is a

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

located in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. The district serves the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu, as well as a portion of

Westlake Village Westlake Village is a city in Los Angeles County, California, on its western border with Ventura County. Upon its incorporation in 1981, Westlake Village became the 82nd municipality of Los Angeles County.Baker, Pam (2002). ''Thousand Oaks We ...

, the

Pepperdine University Pepperdine University () is a private university, private Christianity, Christian research university affiliated with the Churches of Christ, with its main campus in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pepperdine's main campus consists ...

census-designated place A census-designated place (CDP) is a Place (United States Census Bureau), concentration of population defined by the United States Census Bureau for statistical purposes only. CDPs have been used in each decennial census since 1980 as the counte ...

, and a portion of the

Topanga Topanga (Tongva: ''Topaa'nga'') is an unincorporated community in western Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located in the Santa Monica Mountains, the community exists in Topanga Canyon and the surrounding hills. The narrow southern ...

census-designated place. It has ten elementary schools, two

middle schools Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes g ...

, three

high schools A secondary school, high school, or senior school, is an institution that provides secondary education. Some secondary schools provide both ''lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper secondary education'' (ages 14 to 18), i.e., b ...

, an

adult high school An adult high school or adult school is a high school facility designed for adult education. It is intended for adults who have not completed high school to continue their education. Some adult high schools offer child care, special integration prog ...

, and an

alternative school An alternative school is an educational establishment with a curriculum and methods that are nontraditional. Such schools offer a wide range of philosophies and teaching methods; some have political, scholarly, or philosophical orientations, wh ...

History

Until the 1980s, students from Malibu were required to bus a long distance into

Santa Monica Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

for grades 10–12, but the former

junior high school Middle school, also known as intermediate school, junior high school, junior secondary school, or lower secondary school, is an educational stage between primary school and secondary school. Afghanistan In Afghanistan, middle school includes ...

there has since become

Malibu High School Malibu High School (MHS) is a Public school (government funded), public high school in Malibu, California. The school is one of three high schools in the Santa Monica–Malibu Unified School District and serves students in the city of Malibu and ...

Environmental problems

In 2009 and 2010, the Santa Monica–Malibu Unified School District did a

polychlorinated biphenyls Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...

(PCB) cleanup of

overseen by the

California Department of Toxic Substances Control The California Department of Toxic Substances Control (or DTSC) is an agency of the government of the state of California which protects public health and the environment from hazardous waste. DTSC is part of the California Environmental Protecti ...

. During a 2011 construction project on the Malibu Middle and High Schools and Juan Cabrillo Elementary School, contractors discovered soils were contaminated with

PCBs Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are organochlorine compounds with the formula C12 H10−''x'' Cl''x''; they were once widely used in the manufacture of carbonless copy paper, as heat transfer fluids, and as dielectric and coolant fluids f ...

and organochlorine pesticides like

chlordane Chlordane, or chlordan, is an organochlorine compound that was used as a pesticide. It is a white solid. In the United States, chlordane was used for termite-treatment of approximately 30 million homes until it was banned in 1988. Chlordane was b ...

and

DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane, commonly known as DDT, is a colorless, tasteless, and almost odorless crystalline chemical compound, an organochloride. Originally developed as an insecticide, it became infamous for its environmental impacts. ...

and presented “an unacceptable health risk”. In October 2013, 20 teachers jointly complained about health problems, including thyroid cancer. A senior

United States Environmental Protection Agency The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an independent agency of the United States government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon proposed the establishment of EPA on July 9, 1970; it began operation on De ...

(EPA) employee recommended that teachers consult

Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, environmental protection organization of local, state, and national government natural resource and environmental professionals. PEER serves as a resource to poten ...

(PEER) for help. In February 2014, PEER attorneys asked the school district to assess the Malibu High School campus. In July 2014, the

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers The United States Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) is the military engineering branch of the United States Army. A direct reporting unit (DRU), it has three primary mission areas: Engineer Regiment, military construction, and civil wor ...

wrote that Malibu High school had never been a military site, despite published reports and interviews with long-time residents present during those years that Malibu did serve as a World War II military training center. The school district hired an environmental firm named Environ, whose initial clean up plan was criticized for allowing elevated PCB levels to remain inside classrooms for 15 years or more, for not testing caulk in all rooms built prior to 1979 and for air quality monitoring of only one year. In April 2014, the EPA rejected the clean up plan. In July 2014, Environ released a second PCB clean up plan. Two weeks later PEER published PCB test results of June 2014

caulking Caulk (also known as caulking and calking) is a material used to seal joints or seams against leakage in various structures and piping. The oldest form of caulk consisted of fibrous materials driven into the wedge-shaped seams between board ...

and dirt samples from school rooms, not previously tested by the District, "at thousands of times the levels previously released to the public". In March 2015, parents and teachers filed a lawsuit to have all contaminated caulk removed. PEER estimated that "probably 80 rooms in the district have contaminated caulk, beyond what was first tested". The district asked the

Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department (LASD), officially the County of Los Angeles Sheriff's Department, is a law enforcement agency serving Los Angeles County, California. LASD is the largest sheriff's department in the United States a ...

to press charges against a parent who took samples from Malibu High to be tested for contamination.Austin, Paige.
School District Seeks Charges Against Malibu Mom Who Tested Classrooms for Carcinogens

Archive
. '' Malibu Patch''. November 4, 2015. Retrieved on November 6, 2015.

Schools

Elementary schools * Malibu Elementary School (Malibu) * Edison Language Academy (Santa Monica) * Franklin Elementary School (Santa Monica) *Grant Elementary School (Santa Monica) *McKinley Elementary School (Santa Monica) *John Muir Elementary School (Santa Monica) * Will Rogers Elementary School (Santa Monica) *Roosevelt Elementary School (Santa Monica) * Webster Elementary School (Malibu) File:Franklin Elementary School (Santa Monica, California) 2023-07.jpg, Franklin Elementary School File:McKinley Elementary School (Santa Monica, California) - June 2023 02.jpg, McKinley Elementary School File:Will Rogers Elementary School, Santa Monica, California 2023 April 01.jpg, Will Rogers Elementary School File:Roosevelt Elementary School (Santa Monica, California) 2023-04.jpg, Roosevelt Elementary School Middle schools *John Adams Middle School aka "JAMS" (Santa Monica) *Lincoln Middle School aka "LMS" (Santa Monica) * Malibu Middle School (Malibu) File:John Adams Middle School (Santa Monica, California) 2023 June 02.jpg, John Adams Middle School High Schools *Olympic High School (Santa Monica) *

(Malibu) *

Santa Monica High School Santa Monica High School, officially abbreviated to Samohi or SMHS, is a public high school in Santa Monica, California. Founded in 1891, it changed location several times in its early years before settling into its present campus at 601 Pico Bo ...

aka "SaMoHi" (Santa Monica) File:Samohi sign 2023 September 01.jpg,

K–8 schools *

Santa Monica Alternative School House The Santa Monica Alternative School House (SMASH) is an alternative school in Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that genera ...

aka "SMASH" (Santa Monica)

References

External links

* ** ** {{DEFAULTSORT:Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District School districts in Los Angeles County, California Organizations based in Santa Monica, California Malibu, California Educational institutions in the United States with year of establishment missing