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Camp Pendleton children to benefit from new schools

New schools dedicated to serving Camp Pendleton children will soon be constructed, after years of planning and preparation. Mary Fay Pendleton and San Onofre schools will be replaced with beautifully built new schools.

Both schools are K-8 and are located aboard Camp Pendleton, and because of this, the majority of the funding comes from a federal grant aimed to ensure schools located on military installations are at least equivalent to surrounding school facilities.

Senate Bill 111 was signed last October to help secure federal funding for California schools serving military families, meeting the matching share requirement of a school construction grant made by the Office of Economic Adjustment of the Department of Defense (DOD) to construct, renovate, repair or expand K-12 public schools located on military installations.

Both Mary Fay Pendleton and San Onofre will be built on land existing on the current school footprint, so students will not be dislodged during construction, said Fallbrook Union Elementary School District assistant superintendent Bill Billingsley.

“Subject to finalizing the DOD grant funding, construction of the new schools may begin as soon as 2017 or 2018,” said Billingsley. “School administration have been involved in all phases of planning and preparation since the process began roughly five years ago. A team of teachers, school staff, and administrators met frequently in the early design phase to provide input and feedback on both school's design and layout. Administration continues to meet frequently as the specific designs are being completed.”

Things that students will be able to look forward to are large modern classrooms and integrated two-story school buildings without temporary classrooms; technology integrated into all classrooms and throughout both campuses; a large covered lunch area; a new multi-purpose/gym facility; and a two-story technology-rich media center, said Billingsley. In addition, parents will appreciate well-designed, efficient drop off and pick up areas and large parking lots; larger outdoor play areas; and separate student zones based upon grade level (primary students separated from middle level students). In addition, the schools will be built with room to grow, so that increased population numbers can be accommodated.

“The estimated cost for both campuses, funded primarily through a Department of Defense grant, will be roughly $90 million,” said Billingsley. “Students at both Mary Fay and San Onofre will continue to attend classes in their current classrooms on their existing campuses while the new schools are built on property adjacent to the current campuses. We do not anticipate any disruption to student learning during the construction.”

 

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