City Council Member Advocates For Parents Who Want Kids In School

MANHATTAN BEACH, CA — Manhattan Beach Mayor Pro Tem Suzanne Hadley took to social media Sunday to provide guidance for parents of school-aged kids unhappy with the current plans in Manhattan Beach for all public and private schools to launch the fall academic year with distance learning.

In her posts, Hadley tells parents that in her opinion, "the best place to direct your energy is the LA County Board of Supervisors, and especially our supervisor Janice Hahn. Supervisor Hahn's email address is FourthDistrict@bos.lacounty.gov." She goes on to write, "During this pandemic the fact that MB and the South Bay are part of LA County is a mixed blessing. Because LA County is so large (10 million+), our county supervisors have a lot of political clout. I suspect they have a direct line to the governor. But the county is also so big that it has a wide range of Covid experiences. If the South Bay were its own county, our schools would be eligible to open now because our infection and mortality rates are so low. But because we are part of LA County, the re-opening of our schools is being tied to outcomes in parts of the county that don't resemble MB.

"My message to Supervisor Hahn would be that the decision to re-open schools (especially elementary) should be based on conditions on the ground in MB and the South Bay. Every day the Daily Breeze publishes Covid statistics and graphics by city within LA County. Our current positive testing rate is well below Governor Newsom's threshold to re-open schools. Within a county as big as LA, Supervisor Hahn should be pushing the governor for regional waivers."

"Hybrid learning is Phase 2 of our plan," Manhattan Beach Unified School District Superintendent Mike Matthews told Manhattan Beach Patch, "and we are preparing for that day. It’s impossible to know when that will be, but we are all hopeful that it can happen soon. We will not be in Phase 2 for the start of the school year, and it’s impossible to know when that move will happen. When the time comes, we will focus our efforts on making the transition from Phase 1 to Phase 2 safely. Mayor Pro Tem Hadley understands that, at this point, schools have no choice in whether or not to open. I appreciate her sharing her knowledge with the public." MBUSD classes begin Wednesday, August 26, as do classes at American Martyrs School.

Since June, when schools let out for the summer break, parents, school administrators, staff and educators have been thinking about and working on plans for the 2020-2021 school year. But as experience has demonstrated, COVID-19 statistics change everyday, and members of the public have different opinions and different needs.

"As of right now there is no county guideline providing for opening in a hybrid schedule," said Ben Dale, principal of Mira Costa High School. "Until then, we will move forward with distance learning. As a member of the MB community, I can feel the frustration at the pace of planning and announcing plans, but rest assured: whatever we do will be carefully considered and appropriate."

For its part, MBUSD has worked diligently on the possible models for learning (distance learning, a hybrid model of in-school and distance learning, and in-school) assembling three committees to assist with planning for the next school year. Those committees are a Steering Committee with 23 members, and two subcommittees, one for elementary schools (42 members) and one for secondary schools (49 members). Work began in June and has continued throughout the summer.

The MBUSD Board of Trustees has held board meetings on June 3, 17, 29, July 8, 22, 29, and is set to hold its final regularly scheduled board meeting tonight, Wednesday, August 12, beginning at 5 p.m. The board also held two Town Halls: one for elementary schools (held June 8) and one for secondary (held June 9) so that parents could submit questions and hear answers, as well as learn about MBUSD's planning efforts for fall.

MBUSD Board member Bill Fournell told Manhattan Beach Patch that LA County "has been pretty explicit around the guidelines and what we need to follow." He also said he agreed with Manhattan Beach City Council member Steve Napolitano's reply on Hadley's post, in which he wrote, "Knowing the County as I do (her served as Supervisor Don Knabe's deputy), and seeing how decisions have been made along the way, I don't see that (a 'carve out' for Manhattan Beach or the South Bay schools) happening regardless of any pleas made to Supervisor Hahn's office, but it also doesn't hurt to let her (Supervisor Hahn) know how you feel. So no, I would not support opening the schools against the public health order. I don't think anyone's saying that. Neither do I believe that they will open before the public health order is changed based on countywide data, not local data, as they've yet to do that for any other decision. Regardless of when that is, I think we all need to support our district, Dr. Matthews and our school board. These are all tough issues that require tough decisions and these folks are doing the best they can knowing that they'll never please everyone."

Fournell, who called Hadley's posts and their timing "a little divisive," told MB Patch he'd received an email from Hadley that informed him of the post she was going to put online before she did so. "We need to focus on making our distance learning experience as rigorous as possible and less on trying to pressure politicians to grant an exception," he said. "We already aren't getting enough federal support," he noted. "We're fighting with one hand behind our back from that perspective."

For her part, Hadley says her intent was not necessarily to have Manhattan Beach schools open on August 26 with a hybrid model. "Perhaps not as soon as August 26," she said. "I believe we can reopen MB schools sooner by speaking up than we can by accepting the status quo. Supervisor Hahn knows how special the South Bay is. Many parents, like us, moved to MB for the excellent public schools governed by locally elected school boards. We did not wish to put our kids into LAUSD. We chose local control. Now our local schools are closed because of high rates of infection in areas very far from MBUSD. Our case rates currently in MB are half the level (34 over the last 14 days) that Governor Newsom allows for an entire county to reopen (less than 100 for 14 days). Local kids attend local schools. So why can’t MBUSD quality as a 'county' and reopen?"

Hadley has "heard from dozens of parents privately and publicly who want the option of hybrid or in-person instruction for their students," she said. "My decision to go public is because I want to pay forward our family’s wonderful experience with MBUSD. I love our school board trustees (all volunteers) as well as our superintendent Dr. Mike Matthews. These six individuals are taking a lot of flak for having to follow county rules. I’d like to refocus parents’ frustrations at LA County and the governor who can change the rules.

"I want to pay forward what I’ve learned about our county since I’ve joined city council. Supervisor Hahn cares about her constituents. And her deputy Jennifer LaMarque is approachable, and she works hard for us here in the South Bay. One size should not fit all in a county as giant as LA County. We have the right to petition our county government. MB schools can safely reopen for those who wish their children to learn in the classroom. Teachers and students who do not feel safe returning can be accommodated," she told MB Patch.

Hadley told MB Patch she had been "planning to support efforts to apply for waivers to reopen our elementary schools, but the governor rescinded the waiver process only a short time later. I thought some more and then decided to speak up. I want to encourage parents to raise their voices and use our strong health data to support reopening for families who want it. We can keep asking for the governor to offer the waiver program again—then we can apply and—as long as our strong health trends continue here in MB—keep asking to reopen until we get the green light," she said.

"My husband and I moved to Manhattan Beach 24 years ago for the locally-controlled public schools. Most families I know—younger and older—moved here for similar reasons. Our children are now 19-25 years old, so we only narrowly avoided having Mira Costa closed due to COVID. High school years are tough enough on students to add in a pandemic to PSAT and ACT tests, AP exams, and college applications. Further, when I was a younger mom with four little ones, I was pretty overwhelmed just getting dinner on the table. I would not have had the time and energy to know how to advocate for my kids’ schools in these extraordinary times."

For his part, Fournell says the school district and parents have expended "a huge amount of effort" in working through the models. MBUSD has worked with other local school districts to share models and learn from their experiences and thoughts. He says "administrators, teachers, parents" would all prefer to be back in school sans COVID-19. "But given the reality of where we're at, we're making it as good as it possibly can be for a remote experience."

Last March, when schools were abruptly forced to do distance learning, MBUSD had to quickly pivot into that mode. Now that there's been time to prepare, he is confident the experience will be much better. He echoes what Superintendent Matthews has said before. "Learning will be more rigorous and structured than it was in the spring," he said, noting that the board has taken into consideration of parental input on items such as distance learning involving "too much screen time." The district has worked to alleviate that concern as well as finding ways to help families manage careers, kids and schooling at home.

"I think we're going to find some interesting innovations and realizations on how to do school better, in ways that might last beyond COVID-19," he said. "In June, we were much more focused on preparing a hybrid model. We had really good options on the table. Good, safe ways to have kids in school on some days. You have to consider sanitation, air quality. It's more complex (having students on campus)." That was before Gov. Newsom pulled waivers as an option.

"Things have changed so much since we first began working on this in June. The infection rate changes daily," he said, adding, "The committees did a great job of pivoting once mandated to distance learning only."

He's also pleased with the many teachers and parents who've put countless hours into their committee work. He says school in the fall will offer remote and virtual options for things like choir and band, and that team sports such as golf and tennis may continue to be greenlighted. He also said "workout training" may be allowed, giving student athletes the opportunity to be physical.

"Yes, we have parents who want hybrid right now," he said. "We all agree we'd love that. Ultimately, hopefully, we'll move into a hybrid model." Until that time, Fournell told MB Patch he's enjoyed seeing everyone—parents, teachers, administrators "work together." He says "you can really see how they've flexed (to accommodate what they've been presented with). I'm bullish on how distance learning is going to work out."

You can watch tonight's MBUSD board meeting live here.