Charter schools, a multi-million dollar bus contract, an update on solar, and acquisition of a former school site were all on the docket for last night’s Morongo Unified School District Board meeting. Managing editor Tami Roleff was there and files this report…
The Morongo Unified School District Board of Education received the two petitions for charter schools—Hope Academy in Yucca Valley, and Joshua Tree Arts and Technology, in Joshua Tree—at its meeting last night. A hearing will be held to discuss the two petitions at its next meeting March 22. In other business, the solar projects are mechanically complete at six schools—Twentynine Palms Elementary, Middle, and High Schools, Oasis, Onaga, and Palm Vista—and are waiting for Southern California Edison to commission the systems. Two crews of electricians are working six days a week to complete the electrical connection work at all the remaining schools, which should be completed by March 25 (except Yucca Valley High School and Morongo Elementary Schools). The board gave its final approval to rename the Twentynine Palms High School gym after Richard A. Casey. The board awarded a contract for all new buses, complete with air conditioning, seat belts, and cameras, to Student Transportation of America, at a cost of $3.7 million, about $1 million more than its current contract. The district is hoping to buy back the old Joshua Tree Elementary School for $25,000 and use the property for storage, for either buses or maintenance equipment.
MUSD BOARD GETS CHARTER PETITIONS, AWARDS $3.7 MILLION BUS CONTRACT
