SCHOOLS AND LIBRARY

Five new elementary schools plus a joint high school/middle school campus—all financially independent.

With new families comes the need for new schools, and the Folsom Ranch plan ensures that all new schools – along with parks, roads and transit – will be financially independent and with no cost to existing Folsom taxpayers.

New schools, funded by new residents
The plan calls for five new elementary schools, a middle school and a high school. The schools are fully funded through a combination of state funds, developer fees and a general obligation bond passed in 2007 to fund new schools. Existing Folsom residents will not be paying for the new schools.

The schools will be built as the neighborhoods go up. Until they are available, said David Miller, Folsom’s former public works and community development director, there is capacity for students to attend existing schools north of Highway 50.

Folsom Ranch kindergarten play area.
The first elementary school at Folsom Ranch is designed as a single, two-story building that will host 668 students from kindergarten through fifth grade. The plan area also includes sites for middle and high schools.
Folsom Ranch kindergarten exterior
Schools at Folsom Ranch will be built at a pace commensurate with construction of the new neighborhoods.
Folsom Ranch new school design.
The first new school planned for Folsom Ranch features a design that “creates a high-level learning environment through the use of flexible spaces that are easily adaptable to changing student populations and educational programs,” said Matt Washburn, director of facilities and planning for the Folsom Cordova Unified School District.
Folsom Ranch school aerial view.
Each of the five elementary schools planned at Folsom Ranch will be located immediately adjacent to a park site.
The Folsom Ranch plan calls for five new elementary schools plus a joint high school/middle school campus.

Supported by the School District
On behalf of the Folsom Cordova Unified School District at the June 2011 public hearing, then-Board President Teresa Stanley complimented the final Folsom Ranch project design, saying the Folsom Cordova Unified School District enthusiastically endorsed it. The proposed schools, she said, “will meet the needs of the people.”

A new public library branch
The Folsom Public Library will open a branch in the town center, but planning has not yet begun for this facility. It’s expected the branch library will offer the same services as the Georgia Murray Building, including the free story times, senior programming, kids activities, book clubs, summer reading and public computer access. It will be easy for patrons to request books to be transferred between branches.