LAUSD: Palisades High to reopen in two weeks, about a year after Palisades fire
One year after the Palisades fire destroyed or damaged three school campuses, Los Angeles Unified School District officials said Tuesday that Palisades Charter High School will reopen its campus in two weeks, while permanent rebuilding of two elementary schools is expected to be completed by fall of 2028.
The January 2025 fire forced the evacuation and relocation of thousands of students at Marquez Charter Elementary, Palisades Charter Elementary and Palisades Charter High School, triggering the most widespread school disruptions in the nation’s second-largest school district since the COVID-19 pandemic.
Standing Tuesday at Marquez Charter Elementary, where rows of temporary portable classrooms now line the campus, district leaders reflected on the past year of disruption while outlining the next phase of rebuilding.
“We are here today to celebrate one year, to memorialize the tragedy, the sacrifice, the anger, the pain suffered by the Palisades community a year ago as a result of these unprecedented, devastating fires,” Superintendent Alberto Carvalho said. “But like the phoenix, we cannot be kept down. We are flying high.”
District officials said students from Palisades Charter High School will return to their original campus in about two weeks after spending about a year at a repurposed Sears building in Santa Monica.
About 30% of the campus was damaged in the fire, while the remaining buildings underwent extensive cleaning and safety checks, including air, soil and water testing, officials said.
“We have a slight delay,” said Pamela McGee, executive director of Palisades Charter High School. “All of that was to make sure everything was safe and that we had those tests back, and that we could show those to our community.”
Krisztina Tokes, LAUSD’s chief facilities executive, said roughly 70% of the high school’s permanent buildings were not destroyed, allowing students to return while reconstruction continues on the damaged parts of the site. About 30% of classrooms will operate in portable buildings, she said.
By contrast, Marquez Charter Elementary was a complete loss, with no permanent structure surviving the fire. Students were initially relocated to Nora Sterry Elementary School in West Los Angeles before returning to the Marquez campus in September to attend classes in portable facilities. Permanent reconstruction of the campus is expected to be completed by fall 2028.
At Palisades Charter Elementary School, district officials said about 70% of the campus was damaged. Many families opted to remain at the school’s interim location at Brentwood Science Magnet Elementary School while cleanup and rebuilding plans moved forward. The elementary school’s permanent rebuild is also targeted for completion by fall 2028.
Officials said safety considerations guided every decision about reopening timelines, citing extensive environmental remediation and ongoing monitoring at all three campuses.
“We’ve wanted to go quickly, but we’ve also made a commitment that we’re going to do it safely,” said LAUSD Board Member Nick Melvoin, whose district includes the Palisades. “What we’ve shown in the Palisades is that those aren’t incompatible.”
Officials said the district installed next-generation air quality monitors at the campuses, providing real-time data on particulate matter, wind conditions and air quality that is publicly accessible. The systems are designed to detect environmental changes as rebuilding continues in surrounding neighborhoods.
District officials also acknowledged enrollment declines at the fire-affected campuses, largely due to families relocating after the disaster. Marquez Elementary, which enrolled about 300 students before the fire, now has roughly 130 students. Palisades Charter Elementary has declined from more than 400 students to about 300. Palisades Charter High School enrollment has dropped from approximately 2,900 students to about 2,500 students, officials said.
The rebuilding effort is expected to cost about $600 million and is being front-funded through Measure US, a $9 billion bond approved by voters in 2024 to support school facility upgrades.
Rebuilding costs are estimated at about $202.6 million for Marquez Elementary, roughly $135 million for Palisades Charter Elementary and around $266 million for Palisades Charter High School. District officials said they are also seeking reimbursement through the district’s insurance coverage and federal disaster assistance from FEMA.
Officials credited expedited debris removal by the US Army Corps of Engineers, streamlined state permitting and coordination with local utilities for helping accelerate the rebuilding timeline. Carvalho said the district is pushing to complete construction sooner than planned.
“Initially, we promised the fall of 2028. We will do our very best, not only for Marquez, but also for Palisades Elementary, to reduce that timeline by taking advantage of all the flexibilities and support provided to us by the state of California, including Gov. Newsom,” Carvalho said.”They promised the red tape would be cut, and they are living up to that promise.”