California Celebrates Opening of New $54.5M Elementary School

The Menifee Union School District in Riverside County, Calif., recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its newest facility, Sally Buselt Elementary School. The 75,000-square-foot school cost $54.5 million, and it will serve 600 students in grades K–5, according to a news release. The district partnered with C.W. Driver Companies for the building’s construction.

The campus features 23 classrooms, an administration building, a kindergarten building, food service kitchen, a library, and a multipurpose room, with the buildings arranged in a horseshoe across 10.3 acres, the news release reports. The multipurpose room includes a high-tech AV system, children’s playgrounds, and play and track fields. The campus also includes a 103-space parking lot including dedicated student pickup and drop-off areas.

“We're extremely pleased to continue building our presence in Menifee,” said C.W. Driver Companies project executive Andy Feth. “Sally Buselt Elementary School will serve as a benchmark of excellence in educational infrastructure, with a commitment to quality at every turn.”

The project marks the second partnership between C.W. Driver and the Menifee Union School District. C.W. Driver completed the reconstruction of Menifee Valley Middle School in 2022, according to the news release.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning. He can be reached at [email protected].

Featured

  • Big Horn Academy

    Big Horn Academy

    Established in 1999, the Education Design Showcase is a vehicle for showing off innovative — yet practical — solutions in planning, design, architecture, and construction. Big Horn Academy has been recognized with an EDS 2026 Project of Distinction award in the category of New Construction.

  • Hawaii Elementary School Reopens Following $25M Campus Modernization

    Haʻaheo Elementary School in Hilo, Hawaii, has reopened to students following a three-year, $25-million campus modernization and expansion project that significantly increases the school's instructional space while preserving one of the island's oldest educational institutions, according to local news.

  • Johns Hopkins Starts Construction on New Residence Hall, Dining Facility

    The Homewood Campus of Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Md., recently began construction on a new residence hall and dining facility, according to university news. The work involves demolishing the existing Alumni Memorial Residence Hall I, which was built in 1923, to make room for the new facility.

  • Opportunity by Design Framework

    Opportunity by Design

    Educational improvement efforts often focus on curriculum, instruction, assessment, professional development, and intervention systems while treating the physical school building as background. But school design is not a passive backdrop to learning — it is a structural lever for equity.