City approves Folsom Ranch middle/high school combo

City and school district officials agreed this month to go back to the original plan for a combined middle and high school site in western Folsom Ranch. Due to swelling construction costs and other factors, the Folsom-Cordova Unified School District decided to abandon a standalone middle school planned at Mangini and Sierra parkways. The middle school is now once again pegged for a lot adjacent to the future high school site in Alder Creek West. The Folsom City Council unanimously approved the minor administrative modification Dec. 9. "The cost of building a school is about a thousand dollars a square foot," lamented FCUSD spokesman Craig Rouse at the meeting. "Cost escalation has just gone through the roof." Estimated costs for the high school alone have reached the $400 million range, with the middle school around $250 million, according to FCUSD. Construction of the high school at Oak Avenue and Mangini Parkway is tentatively scheduled to begin in 2027 with middle school work expected to follow by 2029. The schedule, however, depends on home sales, available funding and other development, staff said. The Folsom Ranch planned community south of Highway 50 is projected to add 31,000 residents to the city at full build-out in coming decades. Based on each type of home built, FCUSD estimated four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school would be needed to support students. Two elementary schools, Mangini Ranch and Alder Creek, were built in the east upland area for roughly $85 million each. The original Folsom Ranch plan actually had the middle and high schools similarly combined in 2011. The district has since separated the two in planning, as the middle school parcel had development issues, staff said. School officials cite numerous advantages for the combination, including seamless grade transitions and staff collaboration. The schools would remain separate with their own identities but enjoy shared resources and facilities. Each campus will have a drop-off area, officials said. "Student security and safety is maintained on all areas of the campus," said Rouse, FCUSD facilities, finances and planning director. "The middle school and high school students will have no common area where they mix, and very limited opportunities where they interact." Advantages of the combo include: · Providing seamless transitions through middle and high school (a critical issue for student success). · Improving communication for staff and instruction across grade levels. · Sharing facilities otherwise unavailable to middle school students. · Maintaining a safe and cohesive campus for studies. · Separate schools with individual identities while benefiting from shared resources and facilities. · Meet the district's goal to deliver a timely and cost-efficient school complex. Specific changes include: · The existing 22-acre middle school site at Mangini and Sierra parkways was changed to single-family home/high-density land use. · The proposed 15.68-acre middle school parcel was changed from single-family/high density to a split of about 12 public school acres and four acres of SFHD. "After internal review, staff determined that the request, while usually considered at a staff level, was a decision best made in a public forum," said Folsom Community Development Director Pam Johns in the Dec. 9 council report. Johns said while the move allows FCUSD to develop the middle school and high school campuses more efficiently, it shifts the middle school away from the more walkable, central area of Folsom Ranch to the west area with less housing and more open space. "Homeowners in Mangini Ranch may have purchased homes expecting to be within walking distance or at least close proximity to the school, and may now have to drive their children to school," Johns said in the report. No one, however, voiced disapproval during the meeting Dec. 9. Councilmember Mike Kozlowski suggested that if possible, Folsom could benefit from the stadium and middle school track adjusted to be adjacent to each other. The only location in the region with a track and field stadium and quality warm-up track nearby is at Sacramento State University, said Kozlowski. Rouse said the district will take the idea into consideration. Developer Toll Brothers have property and developments adjacent of the planned schools. "Toll Brothers is in full support," said spokesman Mark Levinsky.