When Mira Costa band and orchestra students returned to school after Winter Break, they did not have lockers because the retrofitting of the band hall had already begun. The Manhattan Beach Unified School District demonstrated ineffective decision making in this matter, as it should have had an implementable plan before school resumed.
Students with band hall lockers were told to clear out their lockers before the beginning of Winter Break in 2013, in order to allow for Phase III of construction to commence. However, the district had not reached a decision regarding band students’ locker accommodations before moving forward.
MBUSD ordered temporary lockers in and around the Small Gym on Jan. 8; however, with time allotted for installation, band students are still struggling without lockers. According to band student junior Sarah Kennedy, students have to carry numerous textbooks for all of their classes in addition to their band instruments. This clearly illustrates how the district’s inability to arrive at a decision negatively affected band students and their educational experience. Band students should have been prioritized during this process given that, compared to others, they are the most in need of the storage to house expensive equipment that lockers provide.
Superintendent Dr. Michael Matthews stated that the administration’s main priority once school resumed had been to ensure that students and teachers had classrooms to move into with the necessary supplies. Although it is fair to say that is a necessity, it does not serve as an excuse for the administration to default on other commitments. The administration should have ensured that all priorities had been met in a timely manner to successfully facilitate every aspect of the plan for Phase III of construction on campus.
Costa Principal Dr. Ben Dale raised the issue of what to do to accommodate band and orchestra students during the band hall demolition as early as September 2013. Considering the amount of time the district was given to resolve this issue with Phase III of construction, its inability to do so reflects its ineptitude when addressing a simple, yet widespread problem.
According to Matthews, the administration attempts to take all necessary precautions to ensure a smooth process, although they sometimes fall short. Matthews took full responsibility for this mishap, showing the district’s maturity in acknowledging its mistake, though it came at the cost of Costa students’ convenience.
Dale also said that having students without lockers when school resumed put pressure on the administration to reach a fast decision. Arriving at a solution only after its consequences had been revealed is not the manner by which the administration should have solved this issue. Waiting to finalize a plan negatively affected students, whereas the issue could have been tended to earlier.
Although a decision has finally been reached, students were indubitably affected by the district’s inability to arrive at an implementable solution to accommodate band students in a timely manner. Had the district administration arrived at a finalized solution preceding the start of the school year, band and orchestra students would not have had to deal with the inconvenience of being without lockers for a few weeks and possibly longer.
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