Manteca Unified is projecting a peak enrollment of 25,250 students in the school year that starts Thursday, Aug. 1.

It would reflect a gain of 228 students over last year’s enrollment of 25,022.

MUSD, since the 2020-2021 school year when the enrollment reached 21,901 students, will have gained 3,249 students four years based on the projection.

To put that in perspective, Ripon Unified in January 2024 had an enrollment of 3,316 students.

And if all of the new students since 2020 were K thru 8th graders and there was no available classroom space, the district would have needed to have built three elementary schools to accommodate the additional enrollment.

The growth isn’t concentrated in one area.

While southwest Manteca and the Mossdale portion of Lathrop are the No. 1 and No. 2 growth areas for new housing developments, there has been significant new construction elsewhere.

That includes in Griffin Park west of Main Street in southeast Manteca, the North Main Commons on the North Main Street, and along the Airport Way corridor just south of Louise Avenue in Manteca.

Measure A bond projects for modernization underway at the Manteca and East Union high campuses have been wed with developer fees and redevelopment agency residual funds to add capacity.

At the same time, the board’s decision to build an early education center for kindergarten and transitional kindergarten on Tinnin Road will free up space at Woodward, Veritas, and Nile Garden elementary schools.

The three campuses serve the rapidly growing area south of the 120 Bypass.

When kindergarten classes are moved to the new location likely in the next two to three years, it will free up space at the three schools to accommodate growth in the first through eighth grades.

To contact Dennis Wyatt, email dwyatt@mantecabulletin.com