Boundary Changes Coming to Menifee Middle Schools
Menifee Union School District is planning to change the attendance boundaries for its middle schools. The opening of its third middle school...
http://www.menifee247.com/2008/08/boundary-changes-coming-to-menifee.htm
Menifee Union School District is planning to change the attendance boundaries for its middle schools.
The opening of its third middle school in August 2009 is what's driving the need to redefine boundaries.
As of this moment, the district doesn't have any proposed boundaries.
The goal of this meeting is to gather input from the public on what their wishes and concerns are. Betti Cadmus, the district's public information officer says that the school board will be taking all public comments to heart.
If your child is preparing to attend middle school next year, now is your time to speak out on which school you'd like him/her to attend, or forever hold your peace.
The new middle school will be located off of McCall Blvd, east of the I-215, by the corner of Sherman Rd and Chambers Ave.
There will be two meetings...
Below is a map of the existing boundaries for Menifee Valley Middle School (purple), and Bell Mountain Middle School (orange)...
Click map to enlarge
The opening of its third middle school in August 2009 is what's driving the need to redefine boundaries.
As of this moment, the district doesn't have any proposed boundaries.
The goal of this meeting is to gather input from the public on what their wishes and concerns are. Betti Cadmus, the district's public information officer says that the school board will be taking all public comments to heart.
If your child is preparing to attend middle school next year, now is your time to speak out on which school you'd like him/her to attend, or forever hold your peace.
The new middle school will be located off of McCall Blvd, east of the I-215, by the corner of Sherman Rd and Chambers Ave.
There will be two meetings...
- August 28, 2008 (Thursday) - Menifee Valley Middle School, 5:00pm to 6:00pm
- September 2, 2008 (Tuesday) - Bell Mountain Middle School, 5:00pm to 6:00pm
Below is a map of the existing boundaries for Menifee Valley Middle School (purple), and Bell Mountain Middle School (orange)...
- I-215 Freeway is the boundary separating the two existing middle schools
- It almost looks as if Newport Rd could be a theoretical boundary defining the new middle school. However, much of the community north of Newport Rd, and west of I-215, is 55+, and may not provide enough to students to create a balance between the three schools.
- The new middle school could create a lot of traffic along Lindenberger Rd, and perhaps even Antelope Rd (going over the hill past Ryland Oasis).
- The new City of Menifee needs to complete Menifee Rd, at Simpson Rd, to alleviate traffic along Lindenberger, and prevent traffic from building up along Antelope.
Just to open a can of worms, would anyone object to Ridgemoore and Freedom Crest going to the new School?
ReplyDeleteQuail Valley, Evans Ranch, and Chester Morrison going to Menifee Middle.
Cali Kirkpatrick South Shore and Oak Meadows going to Bell Mt.
I personally prefer keeping existing school boundaries in place.
What do you all think?
My 6th grader is in mvms and my 4th grader is in ridgemore im not sure how i would feel about the move i already drive far for mvms down a one way road that can take up to a hour both way if you go at the wrong time. i also waount like to drive furter down mcall (a 35 mph zone) just to hit another one lane road. if therse thing were adressed i think i would like my kids to go to a new school.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the poster before me. The street issues need to be addressed NOW! Menifee has horrendous traffic tie-ups for such a "rural" community. It does not matter which way you go, N,S, E, or W we have rediculous traffic tie ups. The boundaries for me are fine as Twyman suggested but lets take care of the traffic mess. One way in and One way out of a school is inexcusable. We should not have to see U turns in front of schools while children are crossing or lack of sidewalks that temp kids and parents to jay-walk across busy streets. PLAN THE TRAFFIC ROUTES FIRST! Please!
ReplyDeleteI agree with Mr. Twyman everytime you change the boundaries you don,t listen to what we want anyway you just have a meeting and then do what you want.
ReplyDeleteand when are we going to get our high school?
First, I want to applaud the school district for taking this approach and soliciting input from parents regarding the boundaries for the new middle school. I know they (the school district) took a lot of heat from a lot of parents, myself included, because the changes to the elementary school boundaries earlier this year caught many of us off guard.
ReplyDeleteSecond, if I correctly understand what he's saying, I think Fred's idea makes perfect sense - set the middle school boundaries according to existing elementary school boundaries rather than draw up new geographical boundaries.
I don't know that the occupancy of each elementary and middle school is, but it seems to me it would make more sense to do the boundaries in this fashion:
Quail Valley, Ridgemoor and Freedom Crest to the new middle school
Evans Ranch, Chester Morrison and Menifee Elementary (after it re-opens) to Menifee Valley Middle School
Callie Kirkpatrick, South Shore and Oak Meadows to Bell Mountain Middle School.
I don't have a student currently in middle school or that will even be entering middle school, at least not for a few more years, so any changes to existing boundaries aren't going to affect me. But I saw first-hand back in mid-January/mid-February, if you have an idea and you share that idea with the school board, someone will listen and will address it. Somebody else may decide the idea isn't feasible, but they will listen. So as Steve said in his post, this is the chance for parents to get out and voice their opinions - I encourage all parents to do so.
Good modification Todd. It's all about balancing student numbers but I like you placement better than my original post.
ReplyDeleteThis is not going to make any one happy. None of the Elementary schools are even close to this Middle School. It is off McCall, East of 215 behind the Storage Facility.
ReplyDeleteI think Todd's plan sounds perfectly reasonable.
ReplyDeleteTodd and Fred's plan both sound good. Hopefully the transportation and traffic issues will be settled before all the changes are made. Unfortunatley it is not the school board that controls the road improvements, so start attending the city council meetings if you want to see results.
ReplyDeleteTo Todd and Fred-
ReplyDeleteIt would be difficult for Quail Valley to go to the new middle school as there is no direct way to drive there. In looking at the map it would be shorter for them to go to MVMS. ~Robert
I agree with the post about geographically being far from everyone. We live in the Richmond community on the Lakes golf course and so my kids go to Freedom Crest. The new school location is too far for them to ride their bikes unlike Bell Mountain.
ReplyDeleteWhen you are talking about elementary schools going to the new middle school, do you mean after the changes ,if any, to Ridgemoor boundaries. If Ridgemoor boundaries change again next year that might throw a wrench in the mess. My child just started at Menifee Middle school. Would that mean she would change schools or will you keep the ones that started alone and start with the new fifth graders? Will these items be discussed at the meeting on Thursday?
ReplyDeleteI agree that the traffic problems need to be addressed first, but this has always been an unresolved issue.
ReplyDeleteLiving at Murrieta and Newport, I’m not thrilled with the direction and distance, but otherwise have no problem with my Ridgemoor 4th grader attending a new middle school in 2010. (Gee, where will we possibly find a third totally awesome band director?)
However, I also have a 7th grader at MVMS who will not want to change schools for his graduating semester. I hope the board will continue its tradition of allowing these students to remain until graduation. In addition, I have an 8th grader heading into Paloma Valley High and would like to travel in the same direction next year, since transferring these kids to Heritage High simply isn’t a reasonable option.
Still, I can’t help but wonder why Menifee USD is building a new middle school only a mile or so from an existing middle school (Boulder Ridge). Since our 9th to 12th graders already attend a high school that is part of the Perris USD, why can’t our 6th to 8th graders attend a middle school that is part of the Romoland USD (not accounting for numbers and whatever other reasons I haven't had time to research)?
I guess we have to take our properties where we can get ‘em. Of course, I haven’t come up with a better solution, though I would at least like to stay on the west side of the freeway...
Robert brought up a good point. And I should point out that my recommendation was based purely on the existing boundaries of the elementary schools in relation to the locations of the middle schools. So after reading Robert's post and some of the others, I decided to pinpoint each of the schools in Google Earth and check the distances "as the crow flies" from each elementary school to each middle school.
ReplyDeleteI was a little surprised to learn that Ridgemoor is the ONLY elementary school that is closer to the new middle school than Menifee Valley. The difference in distance is more than half a mile. Quail Valley is indeed closer to Menifee Valley, but only by a tenth of a mile.
Other distances surprised me as well. For instance, Oak Meadows is actually closer to MVMS than Bell Mountain, while the opposite is true for Chester Morrison.
It may turn out that the boundaries for the new middle school have to be drawn up from a purely geographical point of view rather than basing them off of existing elementary school boundaries. I'm in the same boat as others that have posted - I live in the southern end of the Ridgemoor boundaries, but geographically, I live closer to MVMS than the new school. Obviously, there must be parents that live in the northern part of the Ridgemoor, Freedom Crest and Quail Valley areas that live closer to the new school than they do to MVMS.
I do have another idea for the boundaries based on living distances from the different middle schools, but it will take me some time to get it all mapped out and written up. With events I have planned for the upcoming holiday weekend, I honestly don't have time to get to it right now, but I should be able to get something written up by next Monday or Tuesday if anybody is interested.
Okay, someone just tried to explain to me how Menifee USD is K-8 and so is Romoland, but Perris USD educates through 12th grade and that’s why we go to a Perris high school but cannot attend a Romoland middle school. Still not sure I get it. Isn’t Romoland now a part of the City of Menifee? Though I’ve also overheard explanations of how cityhood doesn’t affect the school districts...
ReplyDeleteI am still concerned with this process of estimating distances aerially. It’s so inaccurate and unfair, as we’re currently being shown by the recent complaints on the new busing boundaries. Too many kids inside these boundaries have been left to walk in extremely unsafe conditions, with no sidewalks. Will any child be expected to walk up or down McCall Boulevard?
Residing in the southern end of the Ridgemoor district, I live 3.13 miles from MVMS, but 3.32 miles from Wendy’s at Encanto Drive or 3.56 miles from Sunrise Self Storage at Sherman Road, so I DO NOT live closer to the new middle school than to MVMS. The difference isn’t so great as to cause me any real concern, but I would much rather drive straight down Murrieta Road to MVMS - which is on the way to work in Wildomar - than go up Murrieta Road, right onto McCall, cross over the freeway, and turn left onto Sherman Road - then turn around and go all the way back to Wildomar. While I realize that my convenience isn’t the school board’s or the city’s main concern, I won’t like being told that my kids and I have to travel farther, longer, simply because that’s how a crow would do it!
In the end, it’s probably all about the numbers, as I’m sure none of us wants to face another school closure. I look forward to perusing Todd’s recommendations.
I have another idea. How about the boundaries as follows:
ReplyDeleteEveryone West of Murrieta goes to MVMS
Everyone East of Murrieta and west of 215 goes to the new school.
Everyone East of the 215 goes to Bell.
Just a thought
Just a thought, but was density and location of students a consideration before picking the school site? Some of the Freedom Crest kids could walk to Bell Mountain or bike to either school.
ReplyDeleteRidgemoor and Quail Valley students don't have safe passage to any middle school except for the bus.
Wasn't there a plan for a middle school adjacent La Ladera park?
Just another attempt to make the district big wigs look like there actualy doing something. we just changed bounderies a little over a year ago what the ****. whatever they can do to disrupt our schedules, they dont care..
ReplyDeleteUgh. You too can be a big wig. Just run for school board and you can make the decision however you want. Or you can get public input like the curent board is doing. Personaly I prefer their method.
ReplyDeleteI hope that whatever the school board decides to do is based on what is best for the students and their families and not what is best for the school board or budget!
ReplyDeleteThis new school sounds like it's located in area moer convenient for Romoland School District families than it does fore Menifee Union. When, or may I say if (Romoland School Board Trustees like to spend money on portables that sit empty), Romoland's proposed Middle School opens there will be families driving right past the new Menifee Middle School on a 10-12 mile trek to their Romoland school.
ReplyDeleteSeems now might be a good time for the two District Superintendents to get together and talk about the future and possibly changing the boundary lines of the districts instead of continuing to make screwy school boundaries in each district.
adjacent TO La Ladera park sounds like more common sence of location rather than over by Romoland! This way kids that walk can walk to and from school safely .
ReplyDelete'Near La Ladera Park' - The answer is yes. There are two sites planned in the Audie Murphy Ranch Development. One for an elementary and one for a middle school. The timing of those will be driven by the housing industry recovery. The newest middle school is also being built in an area where there are supposed to be up to 1,500 new homes. It's proximity to Boulder Ridge is not an issue based upon future population.
ReplyDeleteBOUNDARIES - My input.
For the new middle school: Every residence north along the entire stretch of Newport Road will go to the new middle school.
For MVMS: Residences south of Newport Road and west of I-215.
For BMMS: Residences south of Newport Road and east of I-215.
Then, later on when the Audie Murphy Ranch project gets going again and the 4th middle school is built, these boundaries will obviously be redrawn again. The District does not yet own any property in the Audie Murphy Ranch Development.
DISTRICT UNIFICATION - My input.
I am in agreement with a previous post regarding the Romoland and Menifee school districts. What really needs to happen, if you look at the entire area of the new city boundaries, what makes sense is for Menifee district to unify with Romoland and Nuview. Then Menifee absorbs Paloma Valley, Heritage and a yet to be built 3rd high school in southeast Menifee. Don't skewer me... I am keenly aware that city boundaries and school district boundaries having nothing in common. However, what an opportunity to get it close!
This action would easily put Menifee over the 25% high school student population metric required by the CDE to unify an elementary USD with a high school USD. Please note that this is only 1 of 9 qualifying criteria for unification.
I've actually voiced the idea of this "Super Unification" to the Perris HSD Super, the Romoland Super (and two board members), the Menifee Super (and all 4 current board members), as well as, Betty Gibbel, Trustee Area 4, on the RCOE Board. If you want to Unify then we should REALLY UNIFY!
Val Verde USD broke away from Perris because of many of the same issues that have been voiced on this blog. All it takes is for the community to rise up and get really noisy about unification. Val Verde did it and guess what... so can Menifee!
Perhaps Menifee's newest school board candidates should weigh in on this topic. After all, wouldn't you like to know where they stand on the unification issue?
I will remain anonymous on this topic because of where I work.
the 25 % is not one of the 9 criterion however it affects 3 of the 9
ReplyDeletewhy anonymous you cant get fired for being in-favor of unification
I agree, why can't we leave the existing boundaries the way they are, this does pose a problem when you have one at freedom crest and another at paloma valley and bell mountain. this will call my schedule to be crazy.
ReplyDeleteI am not sure why I need to send my daughters to Bell when we are closer to new school. It's silly to use the 215 and an e / w boundary. If you must split the jurisdiction in half...make it north / south...making the new school the southern serving school...and Bell to handle the north...Use Newport or Gabarni as a line....
ReplyDeleteI reside in the Richmond community near the Golf course and my child currently attends Freedom Crest as a 5th grade student. One of the main reasons for buying a house in this area was due to the locations of Freedom Crest and Bell Mountain schools. It takes my child 5 minutes to ride his bike to Freedom Crest and today we timed the bike ride to Bell Mountain as 7 minutes. Yes, I am north of Newport but very south of the new proposed school. I think the decision for boundaries also need to factor the needs of each community/development rather than freeways and streets alone. In situations like this, families should have an option to attend the closer school.
ReplyDelete