In 1936, the records mention for the first time, the possibility of unionizing Franklin with Oak Grove, McKinley or Jackson. It was decided to contact the trustees of the other schools and discuss a proposal with them. In that same year, a decision was made to buy a school bus, build a garage, hire a driver, and apply proper insurance to maintain the bus. A newspaper account on September 18, 1937 read that the Franklin School District had a new 57 passenger bus. Two trips were necessary to transport the pupils and the bus proved to be a good investment as it served the district for 30 years, until 1967, when it was retired.

The Franklin site now had in addition to its school building, a water tower, a one car garage and a basketball court. In 1942 a new principal, Mr. Oscar DeReschke, who was to serve the District for 18 years, was hired. There were six teachers; two more were hired in 1943. Then the influx of people in California during WWII brought an increase in enrollment to 334 children.

In January of 1948, the merger of the Franklin School District with the McKinley School District finally took place. Due to the impetus, of the state of California seeking unification of small Districts, budget and enrollment problems, the trustees from both Districts got together and agreed to merge. A merger was affected, rather than a unification or unionization because the two schools were less than 3 miles apart. It was decided to combine the two names in order to keep the identity of the two Districts.