A new elementary school will be rising in Menifee.
Set to open in fall 2024, it will be the Menifee Union School District’s 15th elementary campus.
The district has been growing over the past year, reaching a milestone of 12,000 students, a figure that’s increasing by more than 300 students a year, district spokesperson Josué Reyna said.
In contrast, California public schools have seen a decrease in enrollment numbers, believed to be caused by the coronavirus pandemic and rising housing prices. A recent report from the California Department of Education showed that, for the current 2022-23 school year, state schools are down 39,696 students from the previous year, which saw a decline of 110,000 students.
Menifee’s new elementary school was proposed in 2021 and a groundbreaking ceremony was staged Tuesday, April 18. The project will cost $54.5 million and be funded by the local school bond Measure Q, state reimbursement and community facilities district funding.
“We were fortunate to experience an increase of enrollment, so in anticipation of the city growth and a growing number of families, we prepared with Elementary School 15,” Reyna said.
Construction on Wickerd Road has already begun, officials said. Once completed in summer 2024, the school will educate up to 1,000 students from kindergarten to fifth grade.
The classrooms and campus will appear simple. For example, the multipurpose room will have a barn-like appearance. But the school will have modern technology, such as wireless sound systems, internet access and large interactive monitors in classrooms, Reyna said.
Every student will be handed a Chromebook, he added.
As of now, the school doesn’t have an official name, but a committee with parents, teachers and city representatives will work to identify one. Applications to join the panel will be available in May and members will be chosen by early June. The committee will consider historical perspectives and send its suggestion to the Menifee school board for approval, Reyna said in an email.
The campus will be next to a historic gold and silver mine, the former Leon Mine, which contained 1,400 feet of developed shafts and tunnels active from the 1800s until 1953.
