A group of some 50 people at Thursday night’s community forum in Sonoma encouraged the Sonoma Valley Unified School District to find alternatives to school closure and consolidation in order to address its budget problems. They also recommended district officials assess the condition of a school’s facilities in the event it is to close, as originally planned, at the end of this academic school year.
During the meeting, held at the Sonoma Community Center and attended by parents, district administrators and staff members, attendees broke into eight groups of five to six people each.
They were asked to discuss five questions, including what key factors they believe should be prioritized when a school district needs to pick a school to close. They were asked to list, in descending order, three of the nine criteria developed by the state Department of Education, and promoted by the state attorney general’s office, that should be considered.
The nine points are:
Condition of School Facility: Assess the quality, condition, and maintenance needs of the school facilities under consideration.
Operating Costs and Associated Savings: Evaluate the financial costs and potential savings of operating each school versus closing one.
Capacity to Accommodate Excess Pupils: Determine if remaining schools can adequately accommodate students displaced by a closure.
Special Programs: Consider the impact on special programs (e.g., special education, speech, arts) and whether they can be maintained at the new schools.
Environmental Factors: Evaluate environmental risks such as traffic, air quality, and proximity to freeways around the school sites.
Balance of Pupil Demographics/Equity: Analyze if the closure and student reallocation will disproportionately impact any specific demographic group.
Transportation Needs of Pupils: Assess the transportation requirements for students, including safe routes, busing, and overall access.
Aesthetics and Impact on the Surrounding Community: Consider the impact on the community, including potential blight or negative aesthetics following a closure.
Impact on Feeder School Attendance Patterns: Analyze how a closure affects the established attendance boundaries and the transitions for students moving to new feeder schools.
Four of the eight groups chose “condition of a school facility” as the top priority, two selected “special programs that may not be available or provided at the same level at the schools to which pupils will be transferred,” one chose “operating costs associated with savings resulting from a closure” and one opted for “balance of pupil demographics and disproportionate impact on a particular demographic group.”
In response to the question, “Do you believe closing an elementary school is the best way to solve the budget deficit?” five of the eight groups said no, two groups were not sure and one group indicated that it was split on the matter.
The forum, facilitated by Sonoma resident Richard Preiss, was held to provide additional community input to the district’s board of trustees as it decides which, if any, elementary school to close at the end of the 2025-26 school year.
Trustees had planned to close Prestwood Elementary School, but after strong opposition to the plan was expressed during public comment at the board’s Sept. 11 regular meeting, trustees said more time will be needed to make a decision.
Notes from the forum will be shared with the Sonoma Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees at its special board meeting on Thursday, Sept. 23.
This is a developing story.