The Superintendent and School Board continue to ignore the public's request to revisit the demolition of The Historic Academic Core Buildings of Samohi On Top of Prospect Hill. Instead, there are three more items on this week's consent calendar moving forward with Phase 3 of the Samohi Plan, which is the current plan that demolishes the History Building. While these items may not look threatening on the agenda (PCB testing of the History Building and an asbestos survey for the Library, Library renovation, and storm drainage rerouting), it's another $143,000 spent this week by the District on the current plan while they say it's too expensive to study alternatives. Please email the School Board ASAP to tell them to press pause. For more background, please read Charles Andrew's article this week

Sample Email:

To: brd@smmusd.org, bdrati@smmusd.org,

cc: fixsmmusd@gmail.com, advocacy@smconservancy.org, samohialumni@gmail.com.  (The district does not have public comment email so we are tracking advocacy.

Re: School Board 11/19/2020 Consent Items F(3)(viii), (ix), and (x) (Samohi Phase 3)

Dear School Board and Superintendent Drati -
I am writing to oppose approval of these consent items that relate to the current Phase 3 of Samohi, which will destroy the Historic Academic Core of Samohi.
I ASK THAT YOU:
1. Press pause on next summer’s demolition and do not approve further planning or expenses on the current Phase 3.
2. Hire preservation experts that can examine the possibility of rehabilitating and modernizing the historic buildings, and prepare a written study for public review and comment before any further work proceeds on Phase 3.
At the School Board meeting on November 5, the Santa Monica Conservancy and members of the public asked the School Board to place the demolition of the Historic Academic Core on Prospect Hill on the School Board agenda. School Board Policy 9322 requires the Board to agendize items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Board, which this is since there are three more items this week relating to Phase 3, but the Board has refused to do so in violation of its own policy.
The School Board is required to protect our assets. According to the Conservancy, a 2008 study by the District, "found that the campus as a whole was highly historically significant and appeared to be eligible for the California and National Registers of Historic Places, and that two buildings within the cluster could be eligible for individual designation." And still, the District has never done a cost analysis of the adaptive reuse of the Historic Academic Core before deciding to tear buildings down and build a new ones. Not only is the School Board failing to protect our community assets by continuing to move forward toward the demolition without a study, but the Board is also misusing public funds by continuing to spend money on the current Phase 3 Plan every day they refuse to press pause.
Even if the District satisfied technical notice requirements in 2018, clearly the outpouring of community concern now shows that the District's outreach failed. Over 3000 community members and Santa Monica High School alumni have signed a petition asking the District to Save the History Building. Every Phase of the Samohi Plan before this has changed from the original design, so it is not too late to do the right thing here.
We believe the Historic Academic Core on Prospect Hill, including the History Building IS SAMOHI. We believe that the History Building can brilliantly be remodeled as part of Phase 3 or a subsequent phase. The District should use this as an opportunity to show that rehabilitation teaches sustainability, and that honoring the past as we modernize for the future gives context and value to the study of history and culture. After all, "the greenest building is the one that already exists" (Carl Elefante, former president of the American Institute of Architects). Many historic school buildings throughout the region and state have been successfully modernized (including Venice High School). Some have won awards for it.
Please take every step, starting now, to Save the Historic Academic Core on Prospect Hill.
Sincerely,

[YOUR NAME]
SMMUSD Parent, Santa Monica Resident and Voter