RUSD Board Looks At Alternatives To Proposed STEM Academy Expansion

The Riverside Unified School District (RUSD) Board of Education last month discussed four potential alternatives to expanding its science and technology academy. 

This presentation came after the board, earlier last year, requested that staff prepare backup plans in case the University of California, Riverside (UCR) decided to back out of a deal that would allow the district to build a new high school on university-owned land, the project fell through or if available funding was less than expected.  

“This is just something that staff came up with so we could actually have a conversation and be able to extract direction and thoughts,” Orin Williams, assistant superintendent, said at the December 18 meeting. “If you don’t like any of these, we’re happy to start over and begin from the beginning.” 

Since 2014, RUSD has discussed expanding Riverside STEM Academy, which focuses on teaching science and technology-based curriculum to students in fifth through 12th grades selected to enroll via lottery system, by building a new campus specifically for the high school students. The academy is currently located near the university on what used to be an elementary school campus. 

The district’s plan is to lease land owned by UCR for 50 years, with the option to extend the agreement twice for another 20 years total. As part of the deal, the district would build its high school campus on top of that leased land. The new campus, once built, would separate middle and high school students to give each cohort more space. The project is estimated to cost $134 million, Williams told the board.

Afterward, the facility would return to the university’s ownership and could require the school district to pay for the campus to be demolished, according to December’s presentation. 

However, the deal has yet to be finalized, according to the staff report. 

Williams presented four alternatives to the board: undergo major renovations to the current campus, repurpose another existing school, cohabitate with one of the district’s other five high schools or build the new facility on RUSD-owned land. 

Each of those options would cost less than what is estimated for the current proposal, with the bulk of the cost primarily going toward updating infrastructure or constructing new buildings. However, these options would be less connected to the university, which the academy’s principal Mark Colwell  told the board he considered “a critical success factor.” 

“Everyone agrees that any partnership with a college or university is going to enhance the experience for our students, and that does happen at Riverside STEM Academy,” Colwell said. “The proximity to the school really helps, our fifth graders can walk to the school and just have interaction with a high level college engineering lab or botanical garden.”

Trustee Dale Kinnear asked Colwell which option he felt would be best for the school if the current project fell through, to which he  responded that he wanted to see more details and a budget before giving his recommendation. Kinnear then asked if Colwell recommended splitting the campus into a separate middle school and high school facilities as currently proposed.

“Under our current model, we have not been split, so splitting it would be an experiment,” Colwell said. “There are some opportunities if we split, I also think there are some detriments.”  

The board members spoke positively about the impacts the academy has had on its students, adding that its unique cohort model has allowed it to provide a higher standard of education. Trustee Amanda Vickers asked staff to look into how those strategies could be implemented at RUSD’s other campuses. Board Vice President Jesse Tweed said he believed that, no matter what path the new campus project takes, the school has the ability to succeed.