May 8, 2026 Parent Letter Regarding Sierra Wilds

The letter below can also be found here in PDF format for viewing.

May 8, 2026

Dear MMCA Families and Greater MMCA Community,

The Rocklin City Council will be meeting on Tuesday, May 12, 2026, at 6:00PM.  One item on the agenda will be to approve or deny a proposal for an affordable housing project on the land just adjacent to Maria Montessori Charter Academy.  We encourage members of the MMCA community to attend the meeting and participate in the civic process.  Additionally, if anyone wants to express their opinions to the Rocklin City Council about this topic, they may email them to PublicComments@rocklin.ca.us before 3:00PM on Tuesday, May 12th, and their comments will be given to City Council members.

The proposed project would occupy the currently vacant land between our school campus and Wildcat Blvd., including the area that currently contains our Community Garden, the Storage Container area, and part of our Preschool Playground.  The developer, Pacific Group Companies, which is under contract to buy the land and develop it, is a multi-million dollar private company headquartered in Eagle, Idaho.  They have significant experience and resources related to projects of this nature.

At MMCA, the health, safety and well-being of our students and staff remain our highest priorities.  Based on our review of the proposal, we believe the project will have significant negative impacts on the school environment.  We encourage families and community members to review the informational slideshow linked here, which includes both information and 3-D renderings for how the project would interface with our school site.  Additionally, a group of parent volunteers has created a very informative Q&A document with additional information about the project.

At its April 2026 Board meeting, the MMCA Board of Directors voted to authorize the creation of a Legal Defense Fund, with the intent being that funds received be used to either fund legal expenses related to protecting our school or land acquisition.  All donated funds will be subject to strict audit requirements, and donations are fully tax-deductible.  Those interested in contributing may do so by clicking here.

MMCA supports responsible development that serves the broader community while also protecting the health, safety and educational environment of school children and future residents. We also value our longstanding collaborative relationship with St. Augustine Episcopal Church and remain hopeful that continued respectful dialogue and compromise can lead to a positive outcome for all parties involved.

We also hope to continue our long history of mutually-beneficial collaboration with St. Augustine Episcopal Church through respectful dialogue and compromise.

If you have questions regarding the proposed Sierra Wilds Project, please feel free to contact me at brent@mmcharter.org.  Community members may also wish to review information provided by an independent community organization, the Urban Ethics Coalition, available here.

Sincerely,

Brent Boothby, 

MMCA Executive Director