Schools
School Renovation To Ease Overcrowding
Work is on track to have Mission Elementary re-opened for the 2011 school year.
The construction crews are working. The earthmovers are going.
The renovation of Mission Elementary School in Loma Linda is in full swing and on track for a July 2011 completion, said Redlands Unified School District officials.
Mission closed in 1994. Its reopening is expected to relieve overcrowding at other district schools, starting with Bryn Mawr Elementary School.
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"Currently, Bryn Mawr has just under 1,000 students and can only accommodate 700 to 750 students within a traditional schedule," said Brian Hardy, coordinator of Facilities Planning Services with Redlands Unified School District.
Bryn Mawr is the only school in the district on a year-round schedule, officials said.
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"It has been the long-term goal of the Board of Education to have all schools on a traditional schedule," Hardy said. "The re-opening of Mission Elementary allows the district to realize that goal."
The $14 million project will include outdoor study areas and an outdoor amphitheater. The mission architecture will be kept, Hardy said. And a new bell tower will be built to house the school's old bell, which dates back to the early 1900's.
About 250 students from Bryn Mawr will transfer to Mission when it opens, Hardy said. An additional 250 to 300 students who live within a mile of the school will make the move from Kingsbury and Smiley elementary schools starting Dec. 13, 2012.
Some students have been bussed to Kingsbury and Smiley because Bryn Mawr is overcrowded.
"Mission will allow these students to have a school much closer to their residence and in a better position to suit their needs," Hardy said.
Mission school will only enroll first- through fifth-graders in its first year. The school, built in 1936, sat unused for at least 10 years.
Many parents are anxiously awaiting the move.
"I think this will be good," said Meiske Maringka, 42, of Loma Linda. She drives her 6- and 8-year-old daughters each day to Smiley.
"I think it will be good to have the school," Maringka said. "I think maybe they can walk there."
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