School Board Backs Distance Between Schools, Alcohol Sales

The school board of the Murrieta Valley Unified School District voted unanimously to formally ask the City of Murrieta to keep at least 600 feet between schools and businesses that sell alcohol.

A revised alcohol code is expected to go before the City Council as soon as next week that could affect that distance. Current code requires at least 1,000 feet. At one point in the development phase of the new code, City staff proposed doing away with any distance requirement. Planning commissioners have been working with staff to develop a new code, and as of the , is recommending to City Council that the distance be kept at 600 feet--the current state requirement.

At a , the board was split on whether a distance between schools and where alcohol is sold makes a difference in negative student behavior, including the consumption of alcohol.

Since then, district staff has looked into the matter more closely, and recommended at least 600 feet distance, concluding that mini-marts and similar businesses create an unsafe pathway between home and school.

"The concern isn't that we think the kids are going to buy alcohol. Our concern was more the unintended consequences," said Guy Romero, assistant superintendent of educational services.

He said it was the outsiders meaning to prey on the students that were the problem. According to Romero, data shows that any type of business that creates a place for students to congregate after school leads to an increase in incidents. He used the Carl's Jr. near Murrieta Valley High School and the Target near Murrieta Mesa High School as examples, as well as the Chevron station near Shivela Middle School.

"We are responsible for our kids until they get home. If there is an area in that pathway before they get home, we would be responsible for the extra staffing to make sure they have a safe way home," Romero said.

"Many times we have had to send staff over to meet with the managers of these stores," he said, adding that suspensions have resulted from students' actions at these gathering places.

A gas station proposed near Vista Murrieta High School that would sell alcohol is what some board members said caused them to take a stance on the issue.

"There is enough right now at The Orchard that I cannot imagine one being next to the stadium gates," Romero said.

Diffley brought up at The Orchard shopping center. He cautioned that someone could come in off Interstate 215 with intentions of robbing the proposed business at gunpoint, creating unintended consequences for students.

He said many moved to Murrieta because it was a safe place to raise kids, and that it would be doing a disservice to the community it they didn't try to protect them.

"I have stopped my car on the way home from school to stop a fight between students," Diffley said. "That is our job."

While board member Kenneth Dickson voted in favor of the resolution, he feared it was counter productive to what the City was trying to achieve with its new code.

"I'm concerned we are getting out of our core competencies and getting into somebody else's business and looking silly," Dickson said. "Where do we stop? Do we have to build a sterile cylinder from the time a students gets out of bed to the time they get home at night? Six-hundred feet is an arbitrary number.

"Do we not want any hamburger stands within two miles of a school and we can go on and on and on."

He said the code being developed by the City is business-friendly, and allows the community to bring in tax dollars that support schools.

Board member Robin Crist said she believes the board does have a responsibility on the issue.

"Although this will be a City Council decision, we were elected to safeguard our kids," Crist said. "I think 600 feet is reasonable."

No members of the public spoke out at the school board meeting, for or against the resolution.

According to minutes from the last Murrieta Planning Commission meeting, its recommendation to Council will include a clause that allows businesses to apply for a license to sell within 600 feet if they meet certain conditions.

The agenda for Council's Tuesday meeting has not yet been published, so it is unclear whether Council will begin discussing the code next week.

In other business, the school board also voted to enact a revised school year that reflects five fewer school days. The vote was unanimous.

"I'm really upset that the State of California has put us in a position to continue taking away days from our kids," said board member Kris Thomasian.

"It is absolutely pathetic," Diffley said.