The Santa Rosa school closure committee has finalized its recommendations, but the difficult decisions now rest with the school board.
After months of meetings, the committee agreed on closing three elementary schools: Albert Biella, Steele Lane, and Brook Hill, along with Santa Rosa Middle School. However, they deadlocked on which high school to close, Montgomery or Elsie Allen, and instead presented the board with six alternative scenarios that would keep all high schools open.
These scenarios include options like turning high schools into 7-12 campuses, creating a TK-8 program at a middle school, closing the continuation school, and consolidating programs. The committee’s report will also include a second tier of elementary schools for potential closure, based on district rankings.
The board faces a $20 million deficit and will make the final decisions in February. The committee’s report, including the alternative scenarios and school rankings, will be presented to the board on February 5th. The committee will meet one last time on February 3rd to finalize the report.
