Fire-Damaged Palisades High Seeks Temporary Home in Old Santa Monica Sears

Temporary Relocation Negotiations Underway

School administrators briefly acknowledged ongoing negotiations to relocate the school to the old Sears building in Santa Monica, which was damaged in the Palisades fire in early January, during a meeting of the school’s board of directors.

“I won’t say a lot about the temporary relocation, because we have more to talk about later,” said the school’s executive director and principal, Pamela Magee. “But I do want to assure everyone we’re working on that, that we had a little bit of a delay, because, as with many things that deal with contracts, things sometimes come up. We’re working through it. We think that we’ll get it all resolved quickly.”

Planned Return to Original Campus

Administrators and board members hope that students can return to the Palisades High property as soon as the fall, using portable buildings as well as the 70% of the campus that did not catch fire.

Officials have also discussed the possibility of holding this year’s graduation at the still-standing football stadium.

A Suitable Location for a High School

The Sears building, which closed in 2017, has enough room for a high school with a pre-fire enrollment of 3,000 students, an indication of the site’s available space.

Pali High’s current enrollment is around 2,700, and the location will be farther from the homes of people who lived in the Palisades, but many of those residents are scattered around the L.A. area after losing their houses to the fire.

Students’ Perspective

Pali High students began their spring semester online on January 23. These students had earlier experienced the difficult period of remote learning during the pandemic, and many have spoken of the importance of returning to in-person learning.

Unlike the pandemic shutdown, students are still gathering for sports and social activities off campus. On Tuesday, they celebrated a win by the girls water polo team.

Challenges Ahead

The fire left behind complicated situations to sort out. As one example, teachers want to know when it is safe to return to the intact, but smoke-and-ash impacted main structure to retrieve belongings – before a deep cleaning results in items being removed and thrown away.

Back-campus buildings destroyed by fire have been cleared away, leaving flat ground that one administrator described as safe to walk on – even if the campus itself is not nearly ready to reopen.

A New Chapter for Pali High

Pali High is an independent charter school run by its own board of directors. The school has always operated out of a property owned by the Los Angeles Unified School District, which ran the school before it broke off from the district.

As an independent charter, Pali’s leaders have both the opportunity and responsibility to manage the challenging recovery without the school district telling them what to do. Both Pali and the school system are working together to return the campus to good condition, officials on both sides have said.

Conclusion

The school’s efforts to relocate to the old Sears building in Santa Monica are underway, with the hope of returning to the original campus in the fall. The school’s leaders are working tirelessly to ensure a smooth transition and are committed to providing students with the best possible education and learning environment.

FAQs

* When will students be returning to the original campus?
+ The school hopes to return to the original campus in the fall, using portable buildings and the 70% of the campus that did not catch fire.
* What is the current enrollment at Pali High?
+ The current enrollment is around 2,700 students.
* Will the school hold its graduation at the still-standing football stadium?
+ Yes, officials have discussed the possibility of holding this year’s graduation at the still-standing football stadium.
* What is the status of the Sears building?
+ The Sears building is currently vacant and available for use as a temporary location for Pali High.