The Culver City High School Marching Band was enthusiastically serenading the audience at the Robert Frost Auditorium on May 21, 2025, but the crowd was slight for the annual “State of the District.” While all School Board members, many school staff and a few parent volunteers showed up, the community largely stayed away.
School Board President Triston Ezidore opened the program, stating that the Culver City Unified School District was “meeting this moment with courage, commitment and care.” Taking on the upcoming fiscal challenges, along with the federal assault on public education, “from book bans, attacks on equity and the dismantling of the Department of Education…We will continue to support all of our students, and to create a culture where every student can feel safe, and can be seen and celebrated.”
Dr Brian Lucas took the podium for his presentation, noting that his early retirement was due to a family situation, and that he had an unexpectedly brief but very happy tenure at the district.
Lauding the success of the newly created Culver City Middle School’s new Speech and Debate Team, Lucas introduced Ben Polesetsky. His speech on the dangers of misinformation was so impressive, Lucas joked afterward that there was no need to continue the search for a new School Superintendent – clearly Polesetsky was ripe for the position.
Lucas introduced several of the Assistant Superintendents, each offering deeply detailed reports on how the District was succeeding, both academically and physically.
Dr. Melissa Gooden, Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources, gave a presentation, as did Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Ms. Santhasundari Rajiv. There was thorough overview of how the physical work was proceeding; there was new roofing at all the campus sites, and new buildings being planned. In addition, Distinguished School honors from the state went to both Lin Howe and La Ballona Elementary Schools,
After the business and academic presentation, Lucas did a brief interview with a panel of graduating seniors – Zoe Wahid, Liora Hartung and Marwan Almasri. Their thoughts about how CCUSD had helped them to both find themselves and focus their goals were candid and clear.
Wahid noted that moving from CCHS to Culver Park had allowed her to access the support she needed to graduate and will be heading to Cal State Northridge. “They really helped me to get what I needed, and that made all the difference.” Hartung was putting her financial success at the forefront by opting into the guaranteed transfer program to start at community college and then finish at a university, “That will keep my student loans at a minimum, and let me take on far less debt.” Almasri highlighted an AP Biology class that had set his sights on neuroscience. He said that he had started out not even knowing how school was supposed to work. “Now, I know I can do anything I set my sights on, and I can succeed with confidence.”
Judith Martin-Straw