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Community speakers urge Murrieta Valley Unified to place facilities bond on the ballot as teachers cite safety and aging portables
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Summary
Parents, teachers and residents at the Murrieta Valley Unified board meeting urged the district to prioritize campus upgrades and put a facilities bond before voters, citing overcrowded portables, safety gaps, outdated HVAC and CTE needs; speakers also endorsed a state LCFF base funding increase.
Community members, teachers and parents used the Murrieta Valley Unified School District board meeting to press the board to let voters decide on a facilities bond and to prioritize repairs at older campuses.
Speakers described longstanding problems at several elementary and middle schools. Cristela Bravo, a third‑grade teacher at Veil Ranch Elementary School, told the board the campus has “low fencing along Los Alamos Road and Ruth Ellen Way” that has allowed trespassers onto fields and said the site lacks adequate outdoor lighting; she asked the district to prioritize safety upgrades and to consider putting a bond measure on the ballot so voters can weigh in. Marguerite Rucker and colleagues from Rail Ranch Elementary said their TK and kindergarten classes still occupy portables that are “over 30 years old,” lack sufficient bathroom access for young children and need a larger playground and a safer parent drop‑off.
Several parents framed the request around equity and long‑term planning. Scott Hammond, a Murrieta resident and parent, urged the board to allow the community to vote on replacing aging facilities and called the district’s facilities master plan “transparent” and a path to address high‑need sites. Justin Sennett and Rachel Gonzales also urged the board to let voters decide and emphasized crowding, failing HVAC in gyms, and the need for updated career and technical education spaces.
Teachers and staff asked the board to use the master plan process to target the most pressing needs. Brandy Heiss, a secondary foundations teacher at Vista Murrieta High School, said teachers in her program are overcapacity—citing a 125% caseload at one campus—and asked the board to examine scheduling and caseload structures to create “additional time” for preparation and IEP meeting responsibilities.
Board members and the superintendent responded that the district is pursuing a facilities master plan that will set priorities and that some interim steps may be possible before any bond measure. President Nicholas Pardue and trustees emphasized the importance of community input, transparency and fiscal prudence as they consider whether to bring a bond before voters.
What happens next: the board is engaged in a facilities master planning process and has heard public sentiment in favor of asking voters to approve a bond; the board did not take a separate, final vote on placing a bond measure on the ballot at this meeting.
