By MAGNOLIA LAFLEUR | Reporter
The Palisades Charter High School Board of Trustees conducted their monthly meeting on Tuesday, March 15, to discuss the topics of masks, perimeter fencing, transportation and more.
The meeting kicked off with public comments regarding masks, from a Pali High student and parents, including Marielle Levine who implored the board to rid the school of its mask mandate.
“I implore you to look at this evidence and remove the masks for our children as other local and state schools have done throughout California,” Levine said. “I must reiterate that there is no law that requires the masking of our children. There is not even a mask mandate. There is only a ‘guidance’ from the CDPH which I have linked here-in. Our kids are suffering needlessly and egregiously, and you have the authority to stop it. As a parent, I am begging you to do so.”
Board Chair Dara Williams said when the Department of Public Health “issues a mandate it is a law, and therefore the mask mandate on campus needs to remain.”
On the topic of the school’s fence, a public comment was made by Debra Sachs stating, “In December, we were made aware that the fence surround the perimeter of the school had been placed there without any approval and it was noted at that meeting that a letter would be sent out to the stakeholders in January to vote on the fence which never happened … Now we’ve gone four months and the fence is still up.
“Shouldn’t that fence come down immediately until we know [if it] is a safety violation. Why wait? Should we have another emergency situation where students need to leave the campus quickly? If the fence traps them in and something horrible happens, weren’t we forewarned?”
There has not been a full-determination to whether the school will forgo the fence or how long it will remain.
On the topic of providing bus transportation for students bu from low-income areas, board member and parent representative Monica M. Batts-King said progress has been made—in reference to the administrative committee that looks into who is riding the bus, options and work to increase donors that will ameliorate the situation—but she feels the school still has a long way to go.
“I am speaking as a parent first and foremost but also representing minority families whose students also attend Palisades. I am concerned about the transportation situation,” King wrote to the Palisadian-Post. “I am concerned that the majority of kids who use the school buses are minority students.
“Palisades only has 9% African American students (which equates to about 300 students of 3,000 students at Pali.) Within that, 106 of them ride the school bus—which according to transportation, is 28% of the bus riders. In actuality this equates to 35% of the African American students that attend Pali. By eliminating the school buses, you are affecting 35% of the African American students, the 90 Hispanic students riding the bus and also the white population coming predominately from West LA but make up 33% of the bus riders.”
King said she thinks the school needs to find a solution to fund the buses because it is “critical.”
“It’s been discussed that diversity would be a priority for admission but knowing that most minority families are not in the area, transportation is critical, especially for freshman and sophomore students who are only 14 years old,” King added. “Do we really feel safe with them riding the public transportation? When you have kids coming from over 100 zip codes, you need to keep in mind what time they would have to get on that transportation. How long would it take to get to school? It only affects those coming from outside the area.”
King shared that she had three children attending Pali High, who were bussed in for $225 per month, each—totalling a monthly charge of $675. King said she thinks the best solution is to focus on donor contributions.
“I think we have to seriously reach out,” King explained. “Tell donors where the need is needed most. Go to our alums and companies or sports players who believe that diversity and education go hand-in-hand. We need to ensure that we have put our best foot forward on this matter and not just eliminate the program because although the cost is high, parents are paying.
“The board needs to reach every direction to ensure that school buses continue. In the end, it benefits the students.”
The Board’s next meeting is scheduled for April 19.
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