Recently, Santa Barbara Unified School District (SBUSD) staff were troubled to learn that a swastika was discovered on a pole in the Dos Pueblos High School athletic stadium.

A custodial team removed it immediately, and an investigation is underway. 

While the perpetrator has not been determined, SBUSD condemns this hateful act in the strongest possible terms.

The district also learned this week that more hateful and despicable anti-Semitic incidents occurred in Isla Vista and UCSB.

Santa Barbara Unified opposes these acts and will continue to educate our students and our community in combating any and all acts of bias and hate. If you see or hear anything, please report it to school site leaders.

On Nov. 15 the SBUSD Board of Trustees adopted a Resolution on Respectful Treatment of All Persons, which calls for  “students, employees, parents, and community members in both schools and offices treat all persons equally and respectfully and refrain from the willful or negligent use of slurs against any person on the basis of race, language spoken, color, sex, religion, disability, national origin, immigration status, age, gender, sexual orientation, or political belief.” 

The district has several initiatives underway to address racial incidents in the community. SBUSD staff is taking anti-bias/anti-racist training right now, and the district is awaiting the results of the Insight Racial Climate Survey analysis.

Santa Barbara Unified is also preparing to launch the I U We Stand Campaign as part of an education campaign against hate.

Any student or staff member should report any incident to their school site leaders, and the district will address any situation swiftly and thoroughly.

The recent incidents happened as Black History Month is beginning, and just after International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Santa Barbara Unified encourages families to join the district in having conversations with students about how these and other groups have historically faced discrimination.

The district wants to celebrate people’s differences, and denounce all forms of hate and violence. 

“We stand with the Jewish community and condemn all forms of hate,” said Superintendent Hilda Maldonado. “What’s happened at Dos Pueblos and across Isla Vista/ UCSB is troubling. We continue our commitment to identifying, responding, and providing remedies to racial incidents when they occur in our schools.

“We believe in and stand for the respectful treatment and dignity of all people as one of our strongest values.”