Mountain View Officially Dedicated as Newest Panama-Buena Vista Campus

The Panama-Buena Vista Union School District (PBVUSD) celebrated the completion of Mountain View TK-8 School on Thursday morning with a dedication ceremony that reflected the school’s growth from elementary school to a combined elementary and middle school.

District leaders, community members, families, and students gathered to mark the milestone for the campus, which first opened in August 2025 as the district’s 26th school. Mountain View is the district’s largest campus and currently serves students from Transitional Kindergarten (TK) through fifth grade. Construction wrapped up this spring for the middle school portion of the campus, and beginning in the fall, the school will add one new grade each year.

Superintendent Katie Russell called the event a “long-awaited grand opening” and praised the partnerships with the construction company, architects, the school board, parents, and more who helped make this school what it is today.

“It truly takes a village to bring this vision to life,” Russell said. “In such a short time, this space has already become something truly special, a beacon for the community and a place where students will grow, learn, and achieve excellence.”

Russell said every area of the campus was intentionally designed and built for 21st-century learning, including an edible school garden, a state-of-the-art gymnasium, and dedicated spaces for older students who are beginning the first stages of independence.

Principal Erica Rojas spoke about the vision for Mountain View, describing it as a place where every student is known, valued, and inspired to reach their highest potential.

“As we dedicate this school today, we make a promise to create a culture of belonging, to ensure high levels of learning for every student, and to build a community where we lift one another up,” Rojas said. “We are one school, one family, one Longhorn community, stronger together.”

Vice Mayor Manpreet Kaur, a former PBVUSD student, said she was proud to return and celebrate a district that helped shape her.

“It is a community project that’s built with so much love,” Kaur said. “The schools that you build and the classroom environments that you create keep families staying here.”

Kern County Superintendent of Schools Dr. John Mendiburu encouraged students to help shape the campus culture, saying schools are defined by their people and the excellence they create together. He welcomed fifth-grader and Class President Marilyn Arredondo to share her experience as one of the first students to attend the new campus.

Arredondo said one of her favorite features is the school’s beauty and the opportunity for students to learn two languages through PBVUSD’s first Spanish-English Dual Language Immersion program.

“They get to learn two different languages at the same time, which is really special,” Arredondo said. “I just want them to know that it’s a beautiful school, and they are one of the lucky people to be here.”

After the dedication ceremony, Arredondo and her fellow students took groups of visitors on a tour of the campus, including the multipurpose room, the new gym, and open-concept spaces that will be used for middle school elective classes.

As someone who will be among the first graduating class in a few short years, Arredondo finished with a message to the TK and kindergarten classes who will come after her: ” You’ve got this.

“Keep trying, keep pushing, love yourself, be positive with yourself, be confident, and believe in yourself,” she said.