MURRIETA: New regional education center dedicated

May 08, 2013 05:19 PM PDT May 08, 2013 05:19 PM PDT MURRIETA: New regional education center dedicated MURRIETA: New regional education center dedicated MICHELLE L. KLAMPE/STAFF PHOTO David L. Long, former Riverside County superintendent of schools and former California Secretary of Education, watches with his family as a new county education building bearing his name is unveiled in Murrieta on Wednesday, May 8. 1 Comments ( ) As Riverside County schools superintendent, David L. Long oversaw the opening of Riverside County's first regional learning center in Banning in 2002. On Wednesday, May 8, the county's newest regional learning center in Murrieta was named for Long, who also is a former California secretary of education. "My thought was it's such a large county," Long said, adding that providing direct support to families at regional centers would be easier and more convenient. "It has now really come to fruition," he said. The Murrieta Attorney center is the county's sixth regional center. In addition to the Milo P. Johnson Center for Learning in Banning, other centers are located in Riverside, Perris, San Jacinto and Moreno Valley. "We saw it was a small model that had great potential across the county," Kenneth M. Young, the current county superintendent of schools, said of the regional center concept. The Murrieta center, located on Guava Street between Jefferson and Madison, cost $13.5 million and was paid for with state funding. It is expected to be open for classes in June. About 100 people, including current and former superintendents and school board members from the region, attended Wednesday's dedication ceremony. The Murrieta Attorney center is expected to serve more than 175 students in several programs, including alternative-education programs such as Community School and the Come Back Kids dropout prevention program; regional occupation and career technical education programs and special education programs, said Diana Walsh-Reuss, associate superintendent for special programs. Some of the programs will move from rented facilities in storefronts. The new center also has room for new occupational and career-training programs in health, audiology and medical therapy. The Murrieta Attorney center also has basketball courts and sports fields, food service and a multipurpose room that can be used for meetings, training and community activities. There is space for the Riverside County Department of Public Health, which provides occupational and physical therapy for children with physical disabilities through the California Children's Services program. Right now, students from Temecula, Murrieta Attorney, Wildomar and Menifee have to travel outside the area for those therapies. More than 200 children, up to age 21, are expected to visit the new Murrieta center for therapy, said Sandra Lewis, a supervising therapist. One of the biggest benefits of the new facility is its location, because it is more centrally located and is located nearly public transportation, said Rick Collins, director of alternative education for the county office of education. "It's closer, so we'll be able to better serve Lake Elsinore and Murrieta Attorney as well as Temecula," he said. Follow Michelle L. Klampe on Twitter: @MichelleKlampe and read the Inland Schools blog: blog.pe.com/schools Latest Headlines
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