What's Up, Doc? School District Growth Continues

By Randall Freeman, PhD

It has been and continues to be a demanding and exciting time for the Menifee Unified School District. Completion is rapidly approaching of the Robert O’Donnell Education Center and Elementary School 10. The new education center will be open for business sometime in June. (I will be very glad to get out of the overcrowded portables and find a parking lot that allows me to park in it instead of across Menifee Road.)

ES 10 will open in August. Brian Martes has agreed to serve as principal in our very first STEAM magnet school. (STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics). By the first school board meeting of May, we should have an actual name for our new school.

With the continued residential growth in Menifee, new schools are already on the planning board. The west side of Menifee is exploding, requiring at least a new elementary school and middle school to be built in the Audie Murphy Ranch area. Many of the older schools require modernization and repair in the coming few years.

Plans are to put a new construction bond on the November 2016 ballot. The State of California no longer matches construction funding, leaving it up to local school districts to pay for 100 percent of school construction. Menifee is growing and the MUSD must keep pace with the increase in population. More local general obligation bonds is the result. More information on the bond ballot measure will be forthcoming.

Dispelling a rumor: I have been told that the MUSD is planning to return to year-round school. As a school board member, I can assure you that YRS is not in the future for MUSD. The costs of YRS is double the traditional school schedule. The wear and tear on the buildings and administrators is also very much accelerated. (Buildings can be deep-cleaned. I don’t know about administrators.)

There is much more to come in the near future. Keep your eyes on this column for up-to-date (and accurate) news.

Randy Freeman and his family have lived in Menifee since 1993. Randy teaches kindergarten in Perris and his lovely wife Karen teaches first grade here in Menifee at Freedom Crest Elementary School. They are the proud parents of four beautiful daughters: Daniela, Sarah, Holly, and Megan. Other family members include dogs Scruffy and Max, and turtle Tuttles. Randy earned his PhD in early childhood education in 2011 and has served on the Menifee Union School Board since 2008. When not assisting Karen in driving the girls to all of their sporting events, Randy volunteers at the Boys & Girls Club of Menifee Valley.