Malibu School Welcomes Students Back for a Minimum Day on Monday
SMMUSD’s Community & Public Relations Officer, Gail Pinsker has announced that Malibu’s Webster Elementary School will reopen tomorrow for a minimum day. The school has been closed since the Franklin Fire erupted in Malibu in December and the school was damaged.
It has taken almost a month for the school to be cleaned and fully repaired, but now students will be allowed to return on Monday. Pinsker shared a letter from Dr. Antonio Shelton, Superintendant of SMMUSD.
Dear Malibu Parents, Staff, and Community Members,
Happy New Year!
I am happy to inform you that Webster Elementary School will be reopening on Monday, Jan. 6, 2025, for a minimum day, following the closure due to damage from the Franklin fire in December. Webster families and staff will hear directly from Principal Carina Diana with specific details.
Our professional restoration/cleaning service and industrial hygienist worked hard during winter break to ensure the campus is clean, healthy, safe, and ready for staff and students to return.
I saw for myself the destruction of the Franklin fire to parts of Malibu including areas around Webster Elementary. The fire did damage our ground array of solar panels, along with some damage to a few perimeter buildings and roofs. We are thankful to the Los Angeles County Fire Department and CalFire for their brave and tremendous efforts to keep the fire from wreaking more havoc on our beloved school.
Crews thoroughly cleaned and restored inside and outside the Webster campus to the highest industry standards including all classroom contents, heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems, electronics, carpets, floors, and building exteriors. We have a few spaces on campus that still need more work, including additional cleaning within the library, however, the school will resume with a minimum day on Monday.
I want to give a heartfelt thank you to Webster Principal Ms. Diana and Malibu Elementary School Principal Chris Hertz for working together, along with their staff, to welcome Webster students and staff to the Malibu campus for four days prior to winter break. Malibu Elementary staff, parents, and students could not have been more open and welcoming to their neighboring school during a challenging time in the community. SMMUSD is one family and the love and care between these two schools was beautiful and very much appreciated.
Our district office team worked closely with our vendors during winter break to make sure school would reopen on Monday. Thank you to all who were involved in making this happen.
We are hearing about elevated fire risk and strong winds predicted for Malibu this week. We have been informed of a possible planned power shut-off for Malibu Middle and High Schools and Malibu Elementary School starting Tuesday morning until Wednesday evening. We are hopeful that there will not be any disruptions to schools or the community and that we enter 2025 with a fresh start and a great outlook. We will keep you informed.
I wish you all the best as we kick off the start of our spring semester of the 2024-25 school year. We are looking forward to a great start of the year with student learning, curiosity, enthusiasm, and a sense of belonging at our Malibu schools. Remember that our elementary schools return on Monday, and our secondary schools, including Malibu Middle and High Schools, return on Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2025.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Antonio Shelton
