Riverside Unified staff presented a preliminary boundary reconfiguration that would assign a proposed ~722-unit residential development to Beatty Elementary rather than Fremont Elementary to prevent Fremont from experiencing substantially increased enrollment.
Slides showed the hatched development area and enrollment projections for a boundary change that would move the development into Beatty’s attendance area. Under staff projections, the move would adjust enrollment to about 658 at Beatty and about 702 (corrected from an earlier misstated number) at Fremont—figures staff described as closer to the district’s planning targets for neighborhood elementary schools. Staff said only one currently enrolled student lives inside the specific new-development area, so displacement of current students would be minimal; staff noted it is more advantageous to set boundary lines before homes are sold so developers can set buyer expectations.
Trustees supported further study and outreach. Trustee comments underscored the value of timely action to avoid last-minute boundary shifts after homes are sold and to minimize community disruption. Trustees also asked staff to confirm implications for DLI (Dual Language Immersion) programming and to incorporate DLI considerations if any currently specialized-program students would be reassigned.
Why it matters: Assigning a large new development to a single school or another affects capacity needs, potential need for portables or classroom additions, and school programming (including DLI or other specialized programs). Staff emphasized the benefit of setting boundaries while projects are still in the developer phase so families know their expected home schools during pre-sales.
Next steps: staff will engage community outreach, confirm DLI and program impacts with Instructional Services, and return with refined maps and enrollment projections for trustee review.