Larry Barnett lives in Sonoma where he was elected to three terms on the City Council and served twice as Mayor. A thirty-three-year resident, he currently serves as Chair of Sonoma's Planning Commission. He has been married for 48 years, has two daughters and three grandchildren.
School Consolidation Committee Leaves It All to the Trustees
On October 29, the Board of Trustees of the Sonoma Valley Unified School District held a Study Session to discuss options for school consolidation/closure recommended by the School Consolidation Committee, which presented its report at the meeting. But there was no recommendation to choose.
The citizen committee had failed to fulfill its charge from the Trustees to recommend sites for closure. The 17-member Committee, which was appointed by Superintendent Jeanette Rodriguez-Chien, had met regularly since December 2023. It was tasked with proposing scenarios for school closure and, in particular, asked to put forth at least one scenario that resulted in a 3-1-1 configuration, meaning three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school, along with Creekside Alternative High School. The one clear recommendation from the Committee was to delay any middle school closure for a year.
Dissension within the Committee was evident at the Trustees’ meeting, where several members made public comment at odds with the official reporting given by two Committee members, and multiple grievances were aired. This delayed the Trustees’ opportunity to begin the Study Session. The meeting ultimately lasted almost five hours.
There was Committee consensus that their work had been handicapped by a lack of direction, and a delay in receiving essential data, including traffic, site safety, and site population statistics, as well as financial data about projected savings resulting from site closure.
Harold Freiman, the attorney hired by the School District to oversee the entire consolidation/closure process, told the Trustees that it was the first time in his multiple years of working with a dozen school consolidation committees that a committee had failed to make any recommendation. His firm specializes in this branch of law, and Freiman said he was not aware of any similar outcomes.
Sonoma Valley Unified’s dire financial situation urges site closure. Accordingly, Superintendent Jeanette Rodriguez-Chien, who inherited this challenge when she took office in June 2023 – presumably with eyes wide open – had set forth a timeline for results. She asked the Consolidation Committee to have their recommendation by October 15, in time to submit to the Board of Trustees for study. The Trustees have been asked to make a recommendation at their regular meeting on November 14, to set the closure and consolidation process in motion for implementation in the 2025-26 school year.
There have been many critics of the perceived rushed timeline, but as Trustee Anne Ching said at this Study Session, “we are bleeding our reserves; we’ve been squandering them.” The State is breathing down the District’s neck to take over administration of Valley schools in the event it cannot produce a balanced budget for the next three years. Trustee Celeste Winders asserted that the Trustees have considered everything possible to avoid closure but found no other way.
When the Trustees at last had the opportunity to talk about school closure, they acknowledged that they relished this public moment in which, as a Brown Act body, they could talk freely among all five members.
New Trustee David Bell offered to begin the discussion. He posited three options, his “favorite from a longterm perspective,” began with eliminating Altimira Middle School, and putting the $9 million or more that would have been invested in a necessary seismic retrofit, into keeping the smaller footprint of schools. His proposal involves bringing the sixth grade back to elementary school, moving Dual Immersion from Flowery elementary to El Verano where it could be K-8, and making Adele Harrison the single 7th-8th grade middle school. His goal, he said, is to “right-size” the District.
Trustee John Kelly spoke next, noting that a school is like a family and the consolidation process needs to be community-centered. Kelly said that “our most disadvantaged students are in 10th, 11th and 12th grades – we’ve failed them.” Affirming that Creekside, as a continuation school, protects these students, he called for a site for that alternative high school. Stating that both Flowery and Prestwood elementary should remain open, he opted for closing Sassarini.
Trustee Anne Ching spoke next, saying that she hadn’t crystallized her thinking yet, and was not ready to be specific. She stressed the decision must be made on objective criteria, and proposed adding a criterion, “alternative use.” She continued, “I want the decision to be evidence-based, research based.” In response, Superintendent Rodriguez-Chien stated that she has sent out to Trustees research regarding grade level configurations.
Trustee Catarina Landry began pointing out that it is important to think about who we are dealing with, the students. She said teachers say the innocence of 6th graders is broken by the 6-8 middle school configuration. She also believes that every school “has to be on the table.” She argued that the District needs to act with a vision, not just look at saving money, and suggested, for instance, offering a trade high school, and also college courses.
President ProTem Celeste Winders concluded the first round of discussion, noting that research has changed her mind about grade level configurations. She focused on keeping Altimira Middle School, noting that when the HVAC and roofs were replaced recently, it passed state standards, so the $9 million-plus seismic upgrades would only be for a catastrophic quake. She also noted there are two other lower levels of retrofit. Winders emphasized that not only do the majority of middle school students live on the Westside, but Altimira is hugely important as the only large community gathering space on that side of the District. Winders observed that because “this town has neglected low-income housing, we’ve become a town without children.” She also stated that El Verano School is off the table, observing that it is “a true Community School, and at a deep functional level it serves a disadvantaged community.”
Both Winders and Kelly agree that Creekside needs a dedicated campus. Winders proposed maybe adding an alternative model that would still offer A-G graduation requirements which prepare a student to attend a California university. She noted this might retain more students in the District.
Several trustees spoke of the need to plan implementation, with input from the staff. Both trustees and the Superintendent emphasized the importance of hearing from the public, urging the community to write the Trustees, and comment online.
By Anna Pier
