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Moreno Valley Unified board approves transition of Alessandro School into three comprehensive campuses
Summary
After a lengthy presentation and public comment, the board approved a plan to move Alessandro School’s classrooms and services into three comprehensive campuses with low staff-to-student ratios, de‑escalation rooms and an implementation timeline beginning in the 2025–26 school year; trustees and parents voiced deep concerns about student belonging and potential segregation.
The Moreno Valley Unified School District Board of Education voted May 28 to approve a plan to transition Alessandro School from a single separate site into programs housed at three traditional campuses.
District SELPA executive director Jason Ramirez, who led the presentation to the board, said staff will “consolidate the Alessandro classes into 3 traditional campuses,” placing small specialized classrooms together on each site and keeping existing supports and personnel intact. Ramirez described projected teacher caseloads of about six to seven students and said, with instructional assistants, the program would approach roughly a 2:1 student‑to‑staff support ratio. He added each campus will include a de‑escalation room and that the plan builds in orientation days and parent workshops before students arrive.
Supporters of the proposal told the board the change is driven in part by a state performance requirement that the district reduce the percentage of students in separate schools. Ramirez told trustees the district has been required annually to submit a plan to lower separate‑school placements and that Alessandro is the district’s only separate school. “So far we haven’t been able to meet that requirement,” Ramirez said.
Board members and parents pressed staff for details about family engagement and student experience. Several parents and trustees warned that shifting students out of Alessandro could feel like segregation and could disrupt children who have found safety and belonging at the site. One parent told the board, “When my child said ‘I’m finally in a class where kids are like me,’ that’s my biggest concern,” and asked how the district would preserve belonging as students move to larger campuses.
District staff responded repeatedly that the classrooms, supports, and personnel currently at Alessandro would move with the students to the receiving campuses and that the district will closely monitor the transition, provide training and professional development, and prioritize individualized IEP team decisions. Ramirez stressed that pilot steps and gradual integration are part of the plan, with elementary transfers beginning the first day of the 2025–26 school year, middle‑school transitions timed for an early quarter or semester, and high‑school moves after a semester to ease adjustment.
Trustee Brandy Clark moved to approve the recommendation. The roll call reflected three trustees voting in favor and three voting against; staff clarified the student trustee’s vote is ceremonial. After that clarification the motion carried and the board instructed staff to proceed with the implementation plan and return with monitoring updates.
Next steps: staff will add community outreach and orientation dates to the calendar, finalize site‑level transition plans, and report back to the board on implementation progress and outcomes as required.
Provenance: Board presentation and Q&A (SEG 1509–SEG 1799); extended trustee and parent discussion (SEG 1799–SEG 2350); motion and roll‑call vote (SEG 2463–SEG 2496).
