FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 29, 2026
Clovis Municipal Schools Clarifies Vision and Value of Raintree Facility
Community investment to meet long-term instructional, operational, and fiscal needs
Clovis Municipal Schools (CMS) is committed to keeping our community fully informed about the decisions that shape our schools and student success. At the January 27, 2026, Board of Education meeting, district leaders provided a comprehensive update on the history, purpose, and future use of the Raintree facility—an asset originally acquired in 2021 to address critical programmatic and infrastructure needs.
The Raintree property was purchased following years of planning, community input, and data analysis. Beginning as early as the 2019–2020 school year, CMS identified four major needs:
A dedicated program for students requiring behavioral supports
Centralized space for technology storage and support
Districtwide training and professional development facilities
Long-term solutions for food service, administrative offices, and student support
The purchase of Raintree in 2021 and its integration into a three-phase transition plan, was designed to support those objectives over time. “Raintree was never intended as an immediate-use instructional site,” said Deputy Superintendent Jay Brady. “It was purchased as a flexible facility to support the district through multiple transitions—including the Marshall Sixth Grade Academy and the reconfiguration of middle schools.”
Following the development of a comprehensive Facility Master Plan informed by projected demographic trends over the next decade, the district recommended consolidating schools in response to statewide declines in birth rates. These closures created additional capacity at existing buildings, allowing the district to address some of the needs that had originally prompted the purchase of the Raintree facility.
The former Clovis High School Freshman Academy has been repurposed as the Student Learning and Support Center, now home to the Instructional Center for Affective Needs (ICAN), which provides support to students with behavioral needs, and iAcademy which is a flexible, STEAM-focused educational program. Initial plans included converting one wing of the building into a district training center. However, growing demand within both programs has led the district to reevaluate its plans for the existing space in order to prioritize instructional needs.
Although past plans called for the sale of Raintree, the landscape has changed. New state mandates now require public schools to offer free breakfast and lunch and prepare at least 50% of meals from scratch. La Casa, the previous provider of summer food services, no longer offers that program, leaving CMS to step in. The money for Advanced Meals comes out of an Enhancement Grant that the district secured through the federally funded Child and Adult Food Program (CAFP) to provide this support for students during school breaks.
The Summer Food Service Program is also funded through CAFP, which is a separate funding source from our district's operational budget. This program feeds approximately 3,000 Clovis children daily during the summer months when school is out of session, ensuring that the children in our community have access to healthy and nutritious meals throughout the year, which supports their overall development and growth.
These developments have significantly increased the need for commercial kitchen space, expanded cold storage, and centralized production capacity. “It's a blessing that we have this facility to repurpose for a lot of reasons,” Brady noted. “Rather than spend $3 million or more to build new facilities, we can use what we already own—saving taxpayers over $2 million in projected costs.”
Superintendent Renee Russ shared the district’s updated vision for the building, which includes:
Consolidation of all expanded food services into one location
A state-of-the-art culinary training facility for students
A central site for district professional development
A community-use space for student banquets, trainings, and events
Raintree is currently on track to be fully paid off by January 2027. The purchase was made using Capital Improvement Act (CIAT) funds, which are legally restricted for use on school facilities, maintenance, and technology. They cannot be used for salaries or general operations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the district received one-time federal relief funds that covered many expenses typically paid through operational or capital budgets. This temporary flexibility allowed CMS to preserve and repurpose CIAT funds for long-term facility investments like Raintree. Additionally, periods of remote learning during the pandemic reduced wear and tear on school buildings, decreasing immediate maintenance demands and further supporting the district’s ability to save for strategic capital projects.
Russ emphasized that the district has always used the facility as originally intended: “While it’s served largely as a support and staging facility during the last several years, Raintree has been a critical asset during one of the most complex facility transitions in district history.”
At its core, the Raintree project is a student-centered investment. By transforming an underutilized facility into a hub for food services, workforce training, and expanded instructional space, the district is creating real-world learning opportunities and addressing essential needs. The commercial kitchen will support career and technical education pathways in culinary arts, hospitality, and nutrition—providing students with hands-on experience in industry-standard environments. Centralized food preparation and storage ensures that all students, including those most in need, have consistent access to high-quality meals year-round, including during summer months. These efforts reflect CMS’s ongoing commitment to student well-being, career readiness, and equitable access to resources.
The full video and agenda from the January 27, 2026, Board of Education meeting are available on the Board webpage: https://www.clovis-schools.org/page/board-meetings-current-year
