The public will be able to view three maps next week that detail potential changes in which schools children can attend in the Murrieta Valley Unified School District.
Redrawing school attendance boundaries is part of a process that began in 2023 but officials hope it will help alleviate crowding and prepare for planned new homes that will bring in more students.
In August, Murrieta school board member Nancy Young said redrawing boundaries would be necessary if district voters did not pass a bond measure to build an additional school on the city’s west side.
The board voted 3-2 against letting voters decide on a $200 million bond in November. Trustees Paul Diffley, Linda Lunn and Young voted in favor of putting the measure forward. But members Nick Pardue and Julie Vandegrift voted no. The proposal failed because four of five board members needed to agree in order to place the measure on the ballot.
On Tuesday, Dec. 10, and Wednesday, Dec. 11, the community can see three proposed boundary maps at the meetings or online. They can give feedback and ask questions of district officials and representatives of its demographer Woolpert, a consultant working with the Murrieta school district.
During the sessions, the maps will be presented by a Redistricting Advisory Committee assembled in partnership with Woolpert. The meetings will detail proposed changes to current school zones that would help the district address potential crowding.
The committee has 20 members and includes current and former district parents, residents, one district staff member, two district teachers and a former PTA president. The district and Woolpert have not released the names of committee members.
“Other members bring their technical expertise to the committee through transportation planning, residential construction, land surveying, military and government service and environmental science,” Andrew Bishop, the project lead from Woolpert who is leading the committee, said in a Thursday, Dec. 5, email.
At a special July 31, meeting, the school board heard from Woolpert about the possibility of redrawing school lines to accommodate more students at elementary, middle and high schools.
Karen Jackson, a Woolpert representative, said Murrieta Elementary School is expected to be crowded in the next two years at 105% capacity and would be at 168% capacity within the next 10 years if the district kept its current school boundary layout.
During that meeting, Jackson said schools should be in the 80-90% range of usage to allow for flexibility and room for special education.
The city has approved more than 8,000 new residential units, mostly on the west side and enrollment indicates a 10% growth in elementary school students, district spokesperson Monica Gutierrez said in a Thursday, Dec. 5, email.
The most significant impact could be on the district’s west side, she said, and the three proposed maps were guided by results of a community survey that had more than 2,000 responses.
“According to the survey, the top priorities identified by the community included assigning students to their nearest school, maintaining elementary-to-middle-to-high school feeder patterns as much as possible and ensuring home-to-school efficiency to promote student safety,” Gutierrez said.
The maps result from the most recent survey in September and October.
Bishop said the map options would have similar themes as they are dealing with fixed locations such as current and future housing developments. The drafts were created by several people and address issues including over-enrollment, transportation needs and future housing, he said.
“Each option attempts to balance the enrollment of the schools in a way that will allow each to accommodate future enrollment growth,” Bishop wrote in the email.
The district’s website laid out some of the district’s efforts to grapple with crowding, which include verifying students’ addresses, limiting transfers and closing some schools to transfers.
Schools closed to transfer students in the 2024-25 school year include:
- Alta Murrieta Elementary School
- Cole Canyon Elementary School
- Lisa J. Mails Elementary School
- Thompson Middle School
Here are details on the two meetings.
- Tuesday, Dec. 10 — 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Vista Murrieta High School, multipurpose room
- Wednesday, Dec. 11 — 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., Thompson Middle School, multipurpose room
A timeline posted Nov. 18 states that the board could hear a final report Feb. 13. Project updates are on the district’s website by clicking here.
