Wildomar's Cornerstone Christian School Approved To Reopen TK-6

WILDOMAR, CA — Cornerstone Christian School in Wildomar is one of the first campuses in Riverside County allowed to reopen amid the coronavirus pandemic. Under a program launched by the state that allows schools serving grades TK-6 to apply for a waiver to reopen for in-person classes, the campus got the green light on Tuesday.

As of Friday afternoon, Cornerstone joins St. John’s School in Hemet and Palm Valley School in Rancho Mirage as the only Riverside County schools — private or public — granted approval to reopen.

Per the state's school waiver program, only students in grades TK-6 may attend in-person classes at approved schools. Students in higher grade levels must continue with online learning, regardless of whether their school receives a waiver. Cornerstone serves students through grade 12.

The waiver process includes an application submitted to the Riverside University Health System - Public Health. If approved, the application is forwarded to the state for approval.

Riverside County has made publicly available a list of schools that have applied for the waiver and the status on those applications. See the list here. As of Friday afternoon, no public schools had applied.

Several private schools across California have sued Gov. Gavin Newsom over campus closures, including Linfield Christian School in Temecula and Calvary Murrieta. The Orange County Board of Education, which serves public schools, has also filed a suit.

Murrieta-based Tyler & Bursch represents the OC Board of Education in a suit, as well as Linfield and Calvary Murrieta in a separate filing. The California State Supreme Court ordered Newsom to respond to the petitions by 3 p.m. Friday.