By Anna Pier
Prestwood Elementary School parents gathered in the Plaza on the afternoon of Friday, September 5 to show their opposition to the proposed closing of their school in June 2026. Almost fifty parents, teachers and students held up signs in support of the Eastside elementary school at the Friday protest. The Prestwood parents are responding to the Sonoma Valley Unified School District (SVUSD) Board of Trustees’ decision at their regular August 14 meeting to explore the possible closure of the school.
On Monday, September 8 approximately thirty-five parents and teachers, plus six people on Zoom, attended the first Prestwood PTO (Parent Teacher Organization) meeting of the school year held in the school library. The first hour of the meeting was dedicated to questions for Acting Superintendent Rena Seifts and Director of Special Education Troy Knox. Ms. Seifts reminded the crowd that she does not make the decision; but assured the parents that she would convey their concerns to the Board. She told the group that closing Prestwood would save the District $1.4million annually, largely by reducing administrative staff and consolidating grade level students, to reduce the total number of teachers.
The aggrieved, often angry parents expressed many concerns. One was the inequity of closing the only school on the Eastside, especially since the Eastside middle school, Adele Harrison, was just closed. Several parents spoke to the fact that Prestwood has the highest test scores, and referenced the Attorney General’s criteria which include not moving students from a higher-performing to a lower-performing school. Another parent berated the trustees for their handling of closure as “the worst marketing campaign ever,” also asserting that Prestwood was chosen because it is the most valuable property. The assertion that the Board is only thinking about money was reiterated.
Several parents voiced concerns about moving the Extensive Support Needs (ESN) students, a more fragile population, and a group that requires playground and other adaptations. The concerns included that Prestwood’s campus was safer than the Sassarini site. The ESN program was transferred in 2023 to Prestwood from the closed Dunbar site. Director Troy Knox responded to these concerns and explained he had met with the ESN parents.
Another parent, himself an engineer, criticized the Board for not following a decision matrix, “a must for any engineering project”. He asserted that the closing of Prestwood affects the most students, an assertion that the Acting Superintendent disputed.
SVUSD is in a financial crisis, linked to – but not solely due to –the steep drop in enrollment. Student population has declined over 40% since 2012. The current Sonoma Valley student population is heavily concentrated in the Springs area on the Westside. In the spring of 2023 the Trustees closed Dunbar Elementary School in Glen Ellen, which had a student population of around 80. In June of 2025 the Trustees closed Adele Harrison Middle School, and all 6th, 7th and 8th grade students in the District are now attending Altimira Middle School. Of the two middle schools, only Altimira had the capacity for all those students. Trustees have been facing the necessity to close a second elementary site at the end of this 2025-26 school year. They voted in May to close Flowery School but rescinded that vote at their next regular meeting in June.
At the August 14 meeting the Trustees asked Acting Superintendent Rena Seifts to direct staff to prepare a proposal for the process involved with the potential closing of Prestwood and consolidation of student and teacher populations into the three other elementary sites: Sassarini, El Verano and Flowery. District staff was asked to adjust and update attendance area boundary maps, to explore the logistical considerations, and prepare a transition plan. The Trustees also spent almost three hours discussing the potential closure of Prestwood at a subsequent Study Session held on August 20.
At their regular meeting on Thursday, September 11 the Trustees will discuss the logistics and boundary adjustment information which District office staff have gathered and put together for them, together with a transition plan. The meeting is limited to discussion only on this issue; it is not an action item on the Agenda. Anyone who wants to comment on this issue of school closure may sign in before the 6 PM meeting, to be held at the Sonoma City Chambers, 177 First Street West. The Trustees have already scheduled a Special Meeting for September 23 when a vote on the potential closure of Prestwood is likely to be taken.
Photos: Melania Mahoney
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