Murrieta Valley USD Gets Approval To Reopen Elementary Campuses

MURRIETA, CA — The Murrieta Valley Unified School District's transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade students may return to the classroom following news Tuesday that Riverside County’s adjusted daily coronavirus cases have dropped to less than 25 infections per 100,000 residents.

The MVUSD is one of four districts countywide that received the green light Tuesday from the county due to its approved COVID-19 safety-plan; state approval of the district's plan is anticipated, the county announced.

“The pandemic has had a major impact on education, like everything else, and as case rates currently continue to decline we can start getting more kids back in class,” Dr. Cameron Kaiser, Riverside County’s public health officer, said in a released statement. “But this can’t be without safety precautions or monitoring. Our districts and schools are committed to operating safely, and so am I.”

The other three Riverside County school districts approved to reopen elementary campuses are Corona-Norco Unified School District, the Palo Verde Valley Unified School District in the eastern desert, and Desert Sands Unified School District in the Coachella Valley.

Parents within the districts are asked to check with their school or district for more information on returning to in-person learning.

The MVUSD had communicated it was eyeing a March 15 reopening for its TK-5 students pending the falling case rate. The first date of in-person hybrid instruction would actually be March 16 for MVUSD students, according to a Feb. 18 communication from the district's administrative team.

"We are thrilled to welcome TK-5th grade students back on campus in a hybrid in-person schedule on Tuesday, March 16th," the MVUSD said in a released statement. "We are also confident in the health and safety measures we have implemented and are extremely thankful for our partnership with Riverside University Health System-Public Health (RUHS-PH), who helped navigate our district through rapidly changing guidance, conditions, and expectations. Between now and March 16th, our elementary school sites will continue to work with families on transitioning back to school, updating emergency contact information, and communicating health and safety measures."

According to MVUSD spokesperson Monica Gutierrez, the district expects to put out more information this week about the reopening, including an update on the possible near-term return to class of sixth-graders.

The Riverside County coronavirus daily case rate has dropped to 16.6 infections per 100,000 population, according to Riverside University Health System. It needed to fall below 25 cases per 100,000 in order for elementary schools with approved safety plans to reopen, according to state guidelines.

A county schools' team, including Kaiser, "continues to review other districts’ safety plans expeditiously along with state review," the county said Tuesday in a news release.

“It has been a very difficult year for our teachers, students and parents. So many have been waiting for a return to in-person learning,” Riverside County Board Chair Karen Spiegel, Second District Supervisor, said in a released statement. “This is an important day for our students and entire education community.”

Schools previously open for transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade education under the earlier waivers process remain in operation, as do those schools that opened for all grade levels during the county’s brief period in the state’s red tier framework, Kaiser said. No public school district reopened under those scenarios.