> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.smdp.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Local schools to get upgrades - URL: https://www.smdp.com/local-schools-to-get-upgrades/ - Published: 2007-03-13T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-24T00:14:15.000Z - Author: Melody Hanatani - Tags: Education, Malibu, #archive-import SAMOHI On a warm Saturday morning, parents, school officials and school advocates piled into the cafeteria here to catch a glimpse of the future of the Santa Monica- Malibu Unified School District. It was the Board of Education’s fourth and final public workshop on the Facilities Master Plan — a 20-year plan outlining projects to improve school buildings — before the Ad Hoc Facilities Committee is due to release a draft of the plan to the public later this spring. The plan will tie in with Measure BB, a local bond initiative passed last November that will bring in $268 million to the district to improve classroom instruction and health safety. The audience wasn’t disappointed as the team of three consultants — Harley Ellis Devereaux, Concordia and Sidewalk Studio — unveiled conceptual plans for each and every single school campus in the district. Whether or not people in attendance agreed with the proposals is another question. An entire wall of the cafeteria was covered with renderings of each school site.Prior to the presentation, parents walked alongside the drawings, scrutinizing and trying to make sense of the plans. The team seems to envision big changes for the district, proposing creating a possible magnet school within the Olympic High School campus on Ocean Park Boulevard and possibly even adding a grades six through 12 school within the site. Olympic High School is currently the district continuation high school. The biggest change lies in the proposal to construct an entirely new school for Edison Language Academy, an elementary school on Kansas Avenue. The team is also proposing transforming the school into a kindergarten through eighth grade academy. Part of the reason why the design team is proposing to rebuild the school is because the majority of the classrooms are located in portables, which is something the team would like to do away with district-wide. There is also the possibility of the district acquiring new land on Virginia Avenue where the new school could be built. “This is one of the more radical proposals we’ll see today,” said John Dale, principal of Harley Ellis Devereaux in his presentation. At least one parent seemed to take exception to the idea that the biggest project would occur at Edison Language Academy where many students are from out of the district. Close to 50 percent of students at Edison Language Academy are non-Santa Monica-Malibu residents, according to parent Lisette Bauersachs. “Why would the cities of Santa Monica and Malibu taxpayer money go to subsidize a school that is 50 percent LA Unified and Culver City,”Bauersachs asked during the public comments portion of the workshop.“I want Measure BB money to come to our students.” Big changes seem to be in store for the district’s two other high schools. The project team is proposing to somehow draw Santa Monica High School and the Civic Center across the street closer together, possibly creating a bridge over Fourth Street to link the two sites. Other potential modifications to the campus includes expanded science labs, a designated pick-up and drop-off area to avoid congestion on Seventh Street and more parking spaces. Malibu High School could see a larger media center and theaters, a public plaza, and an access road between the school and next door Juan Cabrillo Elementary School to provide better traffic circulation during the busy morning drop off and afternoon pick up hours. The road would loop around both schools. Some schools may not receive an extreme makeover. John Adams Middle School is already a “very handsome campus,” Dale said, and will just need a little bit of fine tuning. Same goes for John Muir Elementary School, he said. John Adams will likely receive a minor facelift, with improvements to the science and technology classrooms. The east side of the building might see a new two story building. John Muir on the other hand could get a new gym, a new lunch shelter and additional classroom space. The majority of the schools in the district will be afforded expanded classroom space, lunch shelters, media centers and expanded playing fields. Several of the schools, like McKinley Elementary School could receive new libraries while others, like Franklin Elementary Schools, might enjoy a new Internet cafe. But before the Board of Education moves forward with upgrading the district’s facilities, it will need to consider policy issues that would have a significant impact on the Facilities Master Plan, as the presentation concluded on those policies. Perhaps the most controversial item on deck is the enrollment policy. The district currently has a moratorium placed on new out-of-district students. Other policy issues the school board will need to consider is whether or not the district will hire the necessary information technology staff to support and train the faculty on the equipment used in the district. “Not only do you have to educate your teachers and make sure they are up to the current trend, but also your children,” said Tim Morneau, project manager with Harley Ellis Devereaux. *Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 13, 2007.* [Read the original PDF.](https://s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com/smdp%5Fbackissues/031307.pdf?ref=smdp.com)