Charter School Plans To Open In Lake Elsinore

LAKE ELSINORE, CA — A charter school with locations in Los Angeles and Orange counties is planning to open in Lake Elsinore. The school, which targets predominantly low-income and historically underserved students, has found a location and is in escrow on the property. In the meantime, it wants to use a portion of the Alberhill Ranch Community Park parking lot for classes.

Santa Ana-based Vista Charter Public Schools has requested that the city of Lake Elsinore grant a temporary right to use part of the park's parking lot at 28200 Lake Street until its permanent campus is constructed on a vacant 10-acre lot located on the north side of the lake, along state Route 74, between Joy Street and Walnut Drive.

The Lake Elsinore City Council will review the matter during its 7 p.m. meeting on Tuesday, July 22.

If approved, Vista Charter will be the only charter school in Lake Elsinore, according to the city.

The school's permanent site is contingent on Vista Charter Public Schools obtaining all necessary governmental approvals by March 20, 2026, according to the city. Those approvals include a design review approval by the city's Planning Commission, which is scheduled for August 5.

Meanwhile, the proposed interim Vista Charter location in the Alberhill Ranch Community Park parking lot would include up to eight temporary modular classrooms, accommodating up to 170 students and 24 full-time staff, city documents show.

The school's temporary use of the parking lot will be up to three years, until June 30, 2028, with an option to extend for one additional year if construction on the permanent Vista Charter campus is unexpectedly delayed, according to the documents.

Vista Charter Public Schools will pay a monthly fee of $4,000 to the city for use of the parking lot. That fee will increase 3% annually. The city is also requiring the school to pay a $20,000 security deposit.

The school will operate at the temporary site from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday. During those hours, priority will be given to authorized sports teams for the park's recreation area, according to city documents.

"Based on considerable consultation with City staff and representatives of Vista Charter, staff have concluded that this temporary use will not unreasonably interfere with the public's use and enjoyment of the park," according to city documents.

Vista Charter Public Schools serves students from transitional kindergarten to 12th grade, but during its first year in Lake Elsinore, the school is targeting 70 students in grades K-5 and 100 pupils in grades 6-9. The school would then expand its offerings annually by one grade per year with the possibility of also adding transitional kindergarten.

Vista Charter also proposes operating both a traditional school and a trade school at its permanent Lake Elsinore location.

The Riverside County Board of Education has approved Vista Charter Public Schools to operate in Lake Elsinore, according to the city.