Santa Rosa City Schools Facing School Shutdown
The entrance to Maria Carrillo High School (Alexa Rios/The Puma Prensa)
Written By: Natalia Woods, A&E Editor
On November 13, 2024, the School Consolidation Advisory Committee presented the Santa Rosa City School Board with its official School Consolidation and Closure Report. The committee now has less than two months to present the Board with a report on which schools to close.
Last spring, the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education created the School Consolidation Advisory Committee (SCAC) to determine which schools might be closed or consolidated in order to bring them out of their debt. Due to decreasing district enrollment and problems with budgeting, the board is 25 million dollars in the red. As a result, the School Consolidation Advisory Committee recommended closing three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school. The Committee will then present a report to the Santa Rosa City Schools Board of Education in February 2025 with a suggestion about which school sites to close.
The Board uses 27 different criteria to evaluate which school will be the best for consolidation. These include school enrollment, demographic diversity, uniqueness of facilities, special programs, and environmental factors.
Beginning this month, the Committee will start analyzing all the data points from all the schools in the district. They will then come to their conclusion during their January meeting, draft a report that includes a ranking of the schools, and present it to the Board in early February. The Board will take action and finalize the closure of the schools. The Advisory Committee will make their recommendation, but the Board can still make a decision that doesn’t necessarily align with that.
The Committee will continue to work for the next few months in order to make a final decision in January. Parents and students have been fighting hard for their schools at meetings and advocacy groups are growing in numbers. Tensions are high as the district approaches a decision.
Here are some upcoming meetings that you can attend to learn more about the situation:
Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) Budget Roadshow
December 2, 2024, 6:00-7:30 PM at Santa Rosa High
December 4, 2024 6:00-7:30 PM at Piner High
School Consolidation Advisory Committee Meetings- All meetings are held at the District Office, 110 Stony Point Rd, Suite 105 or through Zoom
December 16, 2024, 5:30- 7:30 PM
January 27, 2025 - Final Meeting, 5:30- 7:30 PM
February 3rd, 2025 -Alternate Meeting Time, 5:30- 7:30 PM