Expanding responsibly to accommodate our growing family

Mabel Mattos Elementary school is beginning to take shape as seen in this photo of its foundation development. We will complete Phase I in time for 238 of our younger learners to attend school in their home neighborhood in August 2018. Mattos Elementary would not have been possible without our community’s support of Measure E 2012 in which we raised $95M. We dedicated $18M of that to supplement developer fees and RDA funds for purchasing the land and building Phase I of the school. We’ve done a tremendous amount of work with our Measure E funds, and the details of how we used the funds to improve our schools can be found in our Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee reports . While we have completed learning centers at every school, installed wireless internet throughout the District, made energy efficient upgrades at several sites, built a multipurpose room for Pomeroy, renovated locker rooms, the pool area, and athletic fields at MHS, and provided several schools with additional portable classrooms, there is still much more to do. In addition to completing Mabel Mattos Elementary, modernizing Randall Elementary, and expanding our high school capacity, we must address safety upgrades, infrastructure, and other facilities needs. 

Our MUSD family is expanding. We are expected to have 700 more elementary students by 2026, and our high school students need stretching room to accommodate the overcrowding in our classrooms; the current enrollment is close to the 3,368 projected by the year 2030. Milpitas High School sits on 56.5 acres of land, and with remodeling we can add 15-20 more classrooms, rebuild the theater, create a central student assembly area, and add a second gym. Imagine the old Ayer High School site as an educational park providing extended programs and career pathways for our high school students and adult learners. Along Calaveras Blvd. the MUSD Educational Park could include a visual and performing arts center (after all, it was once home to the vibrant Calaveras Repertory Theater). While we don’t have the 55 acres of land available to build a second comprehensive high school for 2,000 students, we do have these two sites that can become so much more if only we reframe our thinking about what we do have. With a vision for the possible, we can build on what has been established, capitalizing on what makes us unique—a community with a core high school program that unites all of us through generations.

We need our neighbors’ help in addressing safety and enrollment growth throughout the district. MUSD is fiscally responsible and community focused. That’s why we innovate in and beyond the classroom. The Board and I welcome your comments, ideas, and questions about how we can best meet our needs for the near and distant future. 

With gratitude for you and our students,
Cheryl Jordan