Fontana Unified School District broke ground on a new 63,000-square-foot elementary school in North Fontana on September 16, with the single-story campus designed to serve roughly 800 transitional kindergarten through sixth-grade students when it opens for the 2028-29 academic year.
The new campus will include a multipurpose and performance space, a STEAM-focused learning resource center, a playground, hard-court areas, and outdoor learning spaces meant to extend instruction beyond the classroom, according to Fontana Herald News. District officials say it will be the second new school to open in two years, following Oak Grove Preparatory Academy, a 150,000-square-foot secondary campus at Citrus and Casa Grande avenues that opened August 6, as reported by California School News Report.
Fontana Unified Superintendent Miki R. Inbody said the new school will give Fontana students room to grow, telling attendees the district is building more than a school. Board of Education President Angel Ramirez said the project demonstrates the district's belief in students, the community and families, adding that investments like this help shape the next generation of students. San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools Theodore Alejandre said the facility will provide students with strong educational opportunities, while Fontana Unified notes that local communities are growing in both student numbers and educational opportunities. Board member Danielle Holley was also present at the groundbreaking, per the same account.
Measure I Bond Fuels a Districtwide Building Spree
The groundbreaking is one piece of a sweeping capital improvement campaign funded by the $408 million Measure I bond, which Fontana voters approved in November 2024 with 66.42% support — well above the 55% supermajority California requires for local school facilities bonds, according to Ballotpedia. The measure marked Fontana Unified's first voter-approved facilities bond in 18 years, following Measure C, a $70.57 million bond that passed in 2006, as noted by California School News Report. Property owners within district boundaries pay an estimated average tax levy of $52 per $100,000 of assessed valuation to service the bonds, per Ballotpedia.
Passing Measure I also positions Fontana Unified to pursue matching funds under California Proposition 2, the $8.5 billion statewide K-12 facility bond voters approved the same November, which can help stretch local construction budgets further, the outlet's report explains. To ensure accountability for the bond revenue, the district established an independent Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee under Proposition 39 rules, composed of local business leaders, parents, and community members, according to Fontana Unified School District.
More Campuses In Line for Upgrades
Measure I funds are also paying for fencing upgrades to meet accessibility standards, playground repairs and replacements, new marquee signs, and updated audio systems across the district, per Fontana Herald News. Fontana High School plans to begin construction on a new aquatics center during the 2026-2027 window. Summit High School has stadium enhancements progressing through Division of the State Architect review and approval, Fontana Herald News reports.
Fontana Middle School is slated to begin phase two of its two-story building during the same 2026-2027 period, and Redwood Elementary School plans to start a modernization that includes a new two-story building, a multipurpose room, and a lunch shelter. District officials describe Fontana Unified as offering a linear pathway from elementary school through a seventh- to 12th-grade academy, a structure the new North Fontana campus is designed to feed into.
Growth Pressures Behind the Building Boom
Fontana Unified enrolled 31,958 K-12 students for the 2025-26 academic year, including 6,755 students, or 21.1%, designated as English Language Learners, according to the California Department of Education. That enrollment base helps explain the capacity pressure driving the district's expansion, which comes as residential development continues within district boundaries. Fontana city officials approved a tax amendment for KB Home's 255-home Southridge development, as Hoodline previously reported.
The district's expansion extends beyond classrooms. Fontana Unified also launched a new cadet mentorship program for local graduates in August, Hoodline reported at the time. Together, the new elementary campus, the aquatics center, and the Redwood Elementary modernization reflect how far the Measure I bond dollars are being spread across Fontana Unified's campuses in the years following its 2024 approval.
