Interim Principal at Malibu High Threatens to Fire Teachers who Decline to Teach in Previously Declared Toxic Classrooms, Group Says

The new interim principal at Malibu High School has threatened to fire any teachers who refuse to work in classrooms cleared by the district as no longer contaminated, a group representing teachers and parents alleged today.

At a meeting Aug. 1 between department heads and David Jackson, several teachers voiced concern over returning to classrooms containing carcinogenic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), according to Washington, D.C.-based Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which has teamed up with parent-led Malibu Unites to keep an eye on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District’s cleanup of the combined Malibu High and Malibu Middle schools campus.

“Mr. Jackson reportedly said – ‘If you don’t go back on the first day I’ll give you a warning, if you don’t go back on the second day I will write you up, if you don’t go back on the third day I’ll write you up again, if you don’t go back on the fourth day, I’ll fire you,’” PEER said today in a press release.

A district spokeswoman was unavailable for comment.

The district discovered PCB contamination in the aging campus’s building materials after a number of teachers were diagnosed last year with cancer.

Such a firing would be illegal under California law, wrote PEER Senior Counsel Paula Dinerstein in a letter to Superintendent Sandra Lyon dated today.

The letter also alleges Jackson has threatened to

Arrest any parent who enters the campus who also participates in gatherings to publicize or discuss the contaminationExpel any student who declines to enter a previously labeled contaminated room or take a sample of some caulking in the school buildings

“These bullying tactics are the last thing to demonstrate the district’s promised good faith ad transparency or rebuild trust with the community,” Dinerstein wrote.

Meanwhile, SM-MUSD has been re-opening buildings, including classrooms, at the combined campus, which includes Juan Cabrillo Elementary.

Wednesday, the district gave the all-clear at Juan Cabrillo for Building A (administration) and Building B (a classroom).

In the past month, the district has deemed the following buildings safe:

Aug. 5 -- Malibu Middle School, Classroom/Blue Shark Building (Building E)

Aug. 4 -- Malibu High School, Cafeteria/Auditorium (Building H)

July 28 -- Malibu High School, Administration (Building B/C)

July 28 -- Malibu High School, Library (Building A)

July 18 -- Malibu High School, Old Gym (Building J)

“To date, environmental tests conducted over the summer have consistently found that students and staff are not in danger of unhealthy levels of exposure to PCBs, based on EPA’s health-based benchmarks,” the district posted on its website.

PHOTO Patch file photo.