BRADLEY WEAVER

Staff Writer

A decade ago, grain fields and horse ranches surrounded the seven schools that comprised what would become the Murrieta Valley Unified School District. Today, the district's 12 campuses house more than 12,300 students -- and a tidal wave of new growth is on the way, school officials say.

"I remember when there were 525 students in the district," said Guy Romero, district director of assessment and former principal of Avaxat Elementary School, the second school to open in the district in 1987. "In the winter you would see flocks of snow geese and sometimes you'd see peregrine falcons. When Avaxat first opened, there were still plenty of blacktail deer and coyotes. The wildlife's still there, it's just seen a lot less."

Romero said finding money for new schools over the years has never been easy, but the district has managed to stay one step ahead of student growth. But that may change, officials say, as state bond money runs dry and funds become more difficult to come by.

Until now, preparing for the influx of new students has depended on financial help from the state and the passage of two local school bonds. A $36 million bond passed in 1989 helped build Murrieta Valley High School and served as a springboard for the construction of other schools through the state's matching funds program.

Beginning in 1991, when the district's enrollment was 5,200 students, the district tried unsuccessfully five times to pass a school bond measure. As student enrollment nearly doubled to almost 9,000 students over the ensuing five years, the district chopped its bond proposal down from an initial $50 million to the $30 million that captured 65.4 percent of the vote in 1996 -- just shy of the two-thirds majority needed for passage.

In 1998, voters finally passed a $37.5 million bond that went to build a permanent home for Tovashal Elementary School, which was then nothing but portable classrooms; complete Thompson Middle School and modernize and expand the 44-year old Murrieta Elementary School.

The remaining money from that bond -- about $20 million -- has been earmarked for the district's second and yet-unbuilt high school. The new school is designed to take the enrollment burden of Murrieta Valley High School, which currently enrolls more than 3,000 students on a campus built for 2,400 students.

But a new system for state funding, which favors the most populous districts first, has made allocating money for new campuses a difficult task, leaving some Murrieta officials holding their breath until they get cash to build the much-needed high school.

The district applied for state funding last week, asking for more than $30 million from the state to build Vista Murrieta High. The school is expected to cost nearly $70 million and open in 2003 near Clinton Keith Road and Interstate 215.

The new system has already derailed construction plans in neighboring districts in Temecula and Lake Elsinore. However, trustees say one bright spot for Murrieta is that it was awarded $5.5 million in January to finish construction of Buchanan Elementary School, its eighth elementary school.

"I'm still pretty optimistic that we'll get the funds, even under these crazy and unpredictable rules that the state has," said Trustee Ken Dickson. "We've been lucky so far and it would be very disappointing and very unexpected if we don't get what we're asking for. But you still can't help having your stomach in knots over the whole thing."

The district expects to find out if its high school makes the funding list in September when the State Allocation Board, which doles out the state money to school districts, meets to give roughly $125 million to schools that rack up the most priority points.

Meanwhile, the high school is not the only project on the horizon. With an annual growth rate of 8 percent to 10 percent -- or about 1,000 students a year -- the district plans to build a new middle school and two more elementary schools by 2003. A third comprehensive high school is also in the preliminary stages of discussion.

Although securing state funding may prove a precarious task for the district, Romero said the district "has fulfilled a vision" to make Murrieta's schools an attractive feature for families moving into the community. The attraction, he said, has also been buttressed by high standardized test scores and a reputation for academic excellence.

Murrieta placed first among 22 districts in Riverside County last year for its scores on the Academic Performance Index, the state's new accountability system that is based on SAT-9 tests given to second- through 11th-graders in the spring.

"What we set out to do 10 years ago has been realized," he said. "We're fulfilling our vision to be a top-performing district and we envisioned that from the very beginning."

Contact staff writer Bradley Weaver at (909) 676-4315, Ext. 2625, or bweaver@nctimes.com.

7/1/01