New Elementary School

MABEL MATTOS ELEMENTARY - OUR NEW SCHOOL

LATEST UPDATE: Mabel Mattos opened its doors with the start of the new school year on August 16, 2018. Built by Blach Construction and designed by IBI Group, the school will start by serving 238 students in kindergarten through second grade at the 6.7-acre site in south Milpitas at 1750 McCandless Drive. The Measure E 2012 bond provides funding for Phase I of the new elementary school, which consists of one administration building, a two-story building with eight classrooms, and all underground utilities for future phases. Additional funding is needed to complete the expansion Phases II and III, which could potentially open to students in August 2020 and 2022, respectively. Once all three phases are complete, the elementary school is anticipated to accommodate more than 700 students.

Construction Update

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Public Service Announcement

Mabel Mattos Elementary School

McCandless Property EIR(Environmental Impact Report) Volume 1 & 2

Final Environmental Impact Report
Notice of Completion & Environmental Document Transmittal
Summary Form for Electronic Document Submittal
Notice of Availability and Public Meeting

Attendance Boundaries for the New School

Click here to view the boundary in Google Map

Key Milestones

California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Environmental Impact Report Approval: The Environmental Impact Report that was required by the California Environmental Quality Act was accepted by the Board of Education on January 26, 2016.
Close of Escrow: Escrow was closed on September 27, 2016, completing the sale of the McCandless property from the City of Milpitas to the Milpitas Unified School District.
CDE Approval: The California Department of Education (CDE) approved the McCandless site for use as a school site on August 4, 2016. On January 24, 2017, the CDE approved the proposed school design to be constructed on the McCandless site.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where will the new school be located, and when is it scheduled for completion?

The school will be built on the south end of the McCandless property, and MUSD will see to purchase additional property in order to build the best design for the 800 students who will be attending the new school. Click here to see the September 27, 2016 Board Meeting presentation with a design update.

The new elementary school is currently scheduled to be built in several phases. Construction is scheduled to begin in May 2017. The first phase is anticipated to be completed in August 2018, with a capacity of 250 students. The construction of Phases 2 and 3 rely on the passage of a Bond Measure in 2018, and the scope of each phase will be determined in part by enrollment projections.

What is the cost of the McCandless property and where is it located?

The City Council of Milpitas has proposed selling to Milpitas Unified School District 6.7 acres of its 11 acre parcel located on the 1700 block of McCandless Drive, which is in the new Transit area residential development. The City plans to develop the remaining 4 acres of land for park use. The District accepted the City's sales offer of $3.1 million per acre, which it has verified as a reasonable market price through an independent review process.

Bidding Update
Bidding of the project is underway, and is expected to be completed in March 2017.

What is CEQA and why does the District have to follow its guidelines before it can build a new school?

CEQA stands for the California Environmental Quality Act. The District must follow CEQA guidelines for three reasons:

Ensure the safety and well-being of future students attending school at the proposed school site.
Involve the public in the evaluation process of a proposed school site.
Mitigate the potential impact on the environment.

http://www.dfg.ca.gov/habcon/ceqa/ceqapolicy.html

Why does the CEQA process take 18-24 months?

There are many California state agencies with guidelines and procedures that must be followed in order for the District to receive approval for building a new school on a proposed land site. All public school districts must complete site evaluations ranging from traffic to environmental impact. Once these evaluations are completed, our construction documents must be approved by the Division of State Architect.

CEQA: http://resources.ca.gov/ceqa/docs/2014_CEQA_Statutes_and_Guidelines.pdf

California Public School Construction Process: http://www.calschoolconstruction.dgs.ca.gov/

Why can't the District speed up the state approval process for construction by doing all of the studies at the same?

In addition to the evaluation studies of the land use impact on traffic, the environment, and public health, school construction must also comply with The Field Act. 'The Field Act imposes important requirements on California schools that are not present in other types of construction approval processes..."
Click here for more information on these additional requirements for school construction: http://www.dgs.ca.gov/dsa/Programs/progProject.aspx

What does the District and City mean when they talk about "joint-use land"?

MUSD plans to designate a portion of the proposed school property purchase for joint-use with the City, which plans to set aside park land adjacent to the school property so that together they can create areas for the students to use during school hours, and the neighbors to use after school hours. Some suggestions for the joint-use area that community members shared with Superintendent Cary Matsuoka and City Manager Tom Williams recently were to create; soccer fields, basketball, tennis or volleyball courts, running track, playgrounds, and water or sand features.