Miraleste school in Rancho Palos Verdes to receive $2 million for infrastructure project

Miraleste Intermediate School will receive $2 million in federal funding for infrastructure improvements.

The Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District announced last week that it received the funding through Rep. Ted Lieu’s office.

The funding, the school district’s press release said, came through as part of nearly $14 million in federal funding awarded to 14 projects in California’s 36th Congressional District.

“The planned projects are critical to maintaining safe and reliable operations at Miraleste Intermediate School,” school board President Sara Deen said in a statement. “We are incredibly grateful to Congressman Lieu for his leadership in securing these funds for our schools and students.”

The request for funding initially came in 2024, following a “catastrophic power failure” during storms in February of that year, the district said.

The district reapplied last year, it said in the press release, “requesting funds to replace failing infrastructure at MIS, including electrical, plumbing, sewer, and low-voltage systems.”

“The project also includes upgrades to the district’s Central Kitchen facility located on the Miraleste campus,” the press release said, “which serves students across PVPUSD schools.”

The federal funding will help with planned facility improvements that will largely be funded by Measure SOS dollars, according to the press release. Voters approved that nearly $300 million bond measure in November 2024.

Miraleste, in Rancho Palos Verdes, received the first portion of Measure SOS money in September, when the campus celebrated the groundbreaking of a swimming pool improvement project there, which is estimated to cost $2.2 million.

“We appreciate the strong advocacy and partnership of our board members, families, employees and community members,” PVPUSD Superintendent Devin Serrano said in a statement. “Their support helped demonstrate the urgency and importance of this project for our students and school community.”