MUSD trustees react angrily to PUHSD stance on unification

A report regarding unification at Tuesday's Menifee school board meeting drew frustration from board members. File photo

It was no surprise that members of the K-8 Menifee Union School District board expressed frustration Tuesday with negative developments in their quest to create a Unified School District.

But judging by the comments made, the situation could get even uglier than imagined.

MUSD board members received a report from trustee Bob O'Donnell, who attended a Sept. 19 meeting of the Perris Union High School District, which has authority over the high schools in Menifee. O'Donnell reported the reluctance expressed by PUHSD trustees to allow MUSD to unify by taking over Paloma Valley High School and the newly named Liberty High School, which has yet to be built.

As reported in a Sept. 19 article by Menifee 24/7, PUHSD President Jose Luis Araux set the tone of that discussion, saying, in part, "My proposal is to stay away from this. If that's what Menifee wants to do, let them pay for a [feasibility] study ... Why would the Perris District give away two high schools?"

To MUSD board members, the negativity in that meeting represented a sudden turnaround from a district whose board members -- and superintendent Grant Bennett -- appeared agreeable to moving forward in exploring the MUSD unification process.

"It's very disappointing," said MUSD acting President Reg Bennett. "It certainly makes them sound like a Perris district."

To MUSD board member Jerry Bowman, the negative response by PUHSD represented a lot more than that.

"When they discussed the bond in 2012 (the $153 million Measure T, which passed), there was a promise that unification would happen with the new high school," said Bowman (left). "There was always 'not if, but when'. That promise has been thrown away. If you can't trust that promise, you can't trust them.

"We need to do what we can to get at least a start to this on our own. Obviously, they have rallied the troops against unification."

In 2008, both districts shared the cost of a study to determine how well each met the required nine criteria to satisfy the state for unification. In essence, it was a joint application by MUSD and PUHSD. Not all criteria were met and the application was held in abeyance.

The situation will be much different this time, Bowman told Menifee 24/7 after the meeting.

"It feels like we’ve been lied to," Bowman said. "Yes, part of it’s our fault because we sat on it for six years, on their promise. At this point, we’ll have to look into [unification] on our own. They’ve decided what they’re going to do, and it’s not us."

Bowman, who is running for re-election to the MUSD board, also sits on the 11-member Riverside County Committee on District Organization, which ultimately makes recommendations to the state on changes in local school districts. He believes that what could've been a formality, had both districts agreed, could now become opposing arguments by both sides before that legislative body.

"My understanding … if both districts are in agreement, the state’s not going to say no," said Bowman, whose term on the county board expires this fall. "The districts list all the criteria, then the county looks at it and they make recommendations to the state. Now, for us, it just means that we have to foot the cost of [the application]. It’s more a confrontational type thing."

Previous discussions regarding MUSD unification involved PUHSD releasing Paloma Valley High School and the new high school to MUSD and keeping Heritage High School, which would remain in PUHSD with Perris High. After Measure T passed in 2012, half of the bond amount -- $75 million -- was earmarked to go toward the construction of the new high school, with the remainder to be used in improving Perris schools. The other half of the construction costs of the new high school in Menifee was to be funded by the state, but that payment has not been made, and PUHSD is on a long waiting list for those funds.

Because of that, PUHSD authorized another bond -- the $148 Measure W -- to be placed on the ballot this November. As was the case with Measure T, the bond language calls for half the funds to be used for improvements in Perris high schools and the other half to complete the funding for Liberty High School.

Measure W already is facing opposition in Menifee, at least in social media postings. No one is quite sure what impact  PUHSD's new stance on unification could have on that bond measure. If the bond measure doesn't pass, the expected 2021 opening of Liberty High School would be delayed further. Meanwhile, Menifee's exploding population continues to push Paloma Valley High well past its planned capacity.

"It’s their problem," Bowman said, referring to PUHSD. "They’ve created this problem. They’ve got $75 million sitting there. They could’ve opened a smaller version [of the high school]. Ideally you don’t want to do that, but after six years, you would think you would do something to start that school."

In giving his report to the MUSD board, O'Donnell (left) expressed similar sentiments.

"To my understanding, they all said previously they would work with us," O'Donnell said. "That has changed. Now it's up to us."

The only MUSD trustee who had no comment during the discussion was Randall Freeman, who will vacate his MUSD seat in November. He is running for a seat on the PUHSD board.

"At some point, we need the support of the community [regarding unification]," Bowman told Menifee 24/7. "If the community understands the cost complexity and everything else …

"I get that not everyone wants to know that. They moved here and they wonder why there’s two districts. It [unification] is going to be costly. But once it’s done, there’s higher [average daily attendance], more money coming in. It’s not as much as a high school district, true.

"Otherwise, in my way of thinking, the only way it can work is to have Perris Elementary, Romoland, Nuevo and us all go together and disband the high school district. They don’t have a purpose any more. They did for years, but they no longer have that purpose. But that’s years past my time here."