Tension between community and the School District
Two Town Halls October 1 and 2 on the topic of school consolidation revealed a challenging relationship between the community and the Superintendent, and, to some extent, divisions within the community.
The flyer, sent to all district parents, posted online and published in the media, invited people to “join Superintendent Chien as she “discusses the school consolidation process, timeline and shares updates with the community.” Approximately 130 gathered for the first one, a surprisingly modest turn out for this important topic
Tension already filled the Little Theater at the high school before the Dr. Chien greeted the crowd on October 1 and explained the format: her presentation would be followed by small break-out groups led by District administrators, giving people more opportunity to voice their questions and concerns. Chaos erupted, as people shouted demands for a traditional town hall in which they could speak and be heard by the whole group.
The crowd remained confrontational, interrupting with questions as Dr. Chien proceeded with a slide show presentation of the reasons for school consolidation: significantly declining student population, forecast by the Davis Demographic report to continue; the budget deficit which has put the District in a “qualified” status and vulnerable to takeover by the state; and, on the positive side, increased quality of programs when more resources can be allocated to fewer sites. She said that the PowerPoint is available on the district website: https://www.sonomaschools.org.
Another slide showed Board of Trustees’ actions 2022-2024, including commissioning a Facilities Management Report by Perkins Eastman, and a demographic report by Davis Demographers and, in the spring of 2023, the closure of Dunbar Elementary School.
Superintendent Chien
On her part, Dr. Chien, who inherited this situation when she started work in June 2023, stated she has met with superintendents who have gone through consolidation, she has studied the legal ramifications, and has engaged Harold Frieman, an attorney experienced in this area, to guide the process. He was present, in a supporting role. She appointed the 18-member School Consolidation Committee, whose representation, according to another slide, constitutes community engagement. A question shouted out from the crowd challenged this assertion. The superintendent responded that the Committee was specifically created as a Brown Act committee so the public could attend all meetings.
Dr. Chien explained her plan for the decision on consolidation to be made at the final meeting in November of the current Board of Trustees, as the body which had initiated and has overseen the whole process. This statement drew outcries of protest, citing mistrust of a current board member, and objection to the rushed timeline.
Her presentation over, the Superintendent adjourned the meeting to breakout groups in announced classrooms. Given the opposition to that plan, it was not surprising that 112 people followed her into the J5 classroom. There, Special Ed Director and former Trustee Troy Knox ran the meeting, taking questions and comments, with the Superintendent observing.
There were some questions recurrent as the public spoke. Can the costs of the District office be reduced by eliminating personnel, since the student population has decreased so much? And what about all the attorney fees and consulting fees? There was an undercurrent of determination to keep Adele Harrison open, voiced by students, parents and even some staff, who decried alleged violence by students at Altimira, deeming it an “unsafe learning environment.” Another theme was the inadequate community engagement, with the sense that these Town Halls were too little, too late. Director Knox told the crowd that their questions, recorded at the meeting and also left on post-it notes, would be answered in the F.A.Q. on the district website.
A second Town Hall was offered in Spanish on October 2 at the El Verano School Community Center. Dr. Rodriguez-Chien led the entire meeting in a whole group format, beginning with the same PowerPoint presentation, with the slides in Spanish. She spoke about the District’s budget with an analogy to a family budget, which must align the income and planned expenses, including purchasing new math textbooks, an expenditure that the state requires every seven years. And she emphasized the programmatic advantages for students from consolidation.
Parents’ questions and concerns reflected their anxiety. They echoed the feeling that the timeline was rushed, and also expressed that they haven’t had participation in the decision-making process. The Superintendent assured them that she wants their ideas, suggestions, and questions, and will take them to the Consolidation Committee and to the Board. There was also concern over the translation function not working on the district website. Several parents stated concerns about how the facilities would accommodate more students, and one student said he and his friends love their school and worry that with crowded classrooms they will be afraid to speak, and won’t learn.
Dr. Chien, always speaking in Spanish, shared with the crowd that over her career in other school districts, she had seen lots of discrimination “against us,” as the schools that were closed were the ones in poorer neighborhoods where the parents lacked the capacity to advocate for their students and their school. She emphasized that the CA Attorney General has a specific requirement of equity to avoid this outcome.
When asked, “Can you guarantee that our ideas will be taken into consideration?” Dr. Chien called on Trustee Celeste Winders to speak on behalf of the Board. Winders described the Board process over the last three years, with all study sessions open to the public, and stated that all the community feedback from these meetings will be taken into consideration at the October 29 Board study session.
The meeting ended chaotically when a District translator, who got up to respond to an issue of student behavior at school, assigned the full responsibility to the parents. The whole crowd shouted her down.
The District website offers answers to “Top 10 School Consolidation Questions” – also published in this issue – and the opportunity to take a brief survey about your unanswered questions.
By Anna Pier
