College Partnerships that allow students to earn college units while still in high school through dual enrollment and articulation, PUHSD’s Scholar Plus 1:1 computer initiative, community business internships, and our state-of-the-art STEM programs would all disappear in the event of unification. You may ask, “couldn’t the new district create their own programs?” Sure. But it’s taken PUHSD a decade to refine the model and get things right. There’s no reason to believe the new district would be able to do it any sooner. And what happens to the generations of students in the interim? Unification would do them a tremendous disservice.

Unification would create an atmosphere of segregation. One of the primary state criteria that has prevented unification thus far is the fact that the primary demographic within the Menifee schools would be Caucasian after unification, while PUHSD would consist primarily of minorities. 15 years ago, Paloma had the nickname "Hitler High" due to a prevalent white supremacist sentiment on campus. The staff has worked hard over the last decade to flush out hatred and bigotry through education. The Asian club, Polynesian club, black student union, and femineer club are just a few of the student-led organizations on campus that are working hard to embrace unity in diversity. Unification would deal a huge setback to these efforts.

PUHSD enjoys a rich diversity within its student population. Those demographics allow the district to qualify for several state-funded programs. As mentioned above, unification would segregate our schools, disqualifying the new Menifee district from participating in those programs. Additionally, unified school districts make, on average, $1000 less per student in ADA than a high-school district. Both of these things reduce the money and opportunities our students need to insure their educational success.

Here's something most people don’t know or understand: After unification, some Menifee kids will still be going to PUHSD schools because PUHSD will retain control of Heritage. That means students living anywhere East of the 215 from Menifee Lakes, northward will still be going to a PUHSD school. That's a huge chunk of Menifee! And you can bet the people living in those areas will still be paying double taxes for both districts after unification! So it’s unification for some, but not all: that’s not fair

Menifee residents currently pay for two school districts: MUSD and PUHSD. The Menifee residents who live in areas still served by PUHSD will no doubt continue to pay for both districts. Additionally, there is a significant amount of debt currently outstanding on Paloma. While measure T (and potentially measure W) bonds will be split 50/50 with Perris, Menifee residents will inherit the full existing debt on Paloma. Those expenses are currently shared with Perris residents. Taking on that expense alone will likely insure our taxes will stay the same as they are with the current dual-district structure. It may even result in an increase! Menifee residents living in areas served by Heritage will take the hardest hit, as they will continue to pay for both districts in addition to the larger Menifee tax.

As mentioned in the tax section above, a large portion of Menifee will pay higher taxes than the rest. Additionally, students in that area will go to a different school district than the rest of menifee. This creates a social and economic division in Menifee. Historically, cities with a “good” and “bad” side of the tracks structure suffer from decreased property values and increased crime. The potential impact on the local economies could also negatively effect property values.

PUHSD is one of the largest employers in the area. Unification would unquestionably result in the layoff of potentially hundreds of employees as the district downsizes in response to the loss of two schools and the associated loss of ADA from the students at those sites. Most PUHSD employees live nearby, thus the rise in unemployment would have a direct negative impact on our local economy. Increased unemployment rates in Perris and Menifee could even result in decreases in property values for the affected areas.

Projections indicate many of Paloma’s most experienced teachers would leave in the event of unification due to the low morale and poor relationship MUSD has with their teachers. This would leave an inexperienced staff and result in the loss of valuable programs those staff members currently make available to menifee students.