West Sonoma County Consortium7050 Covey Rd.Forestville, CA 95436Phone: 707-824-7911Fax: 707-634-7413rvelasquez@wscuhsd.org. Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; CPU iPhone OS 14_6 like Mac OS X) AppleWebKit/605.1.15 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/14.1.1 Mobile/15E148 Safari/604.1, At The Table with Clark Wolf Sat. . The chart below details the status of 2021 recall efforts by individual school board member. Im not trying to do anything other than whats best for the kids.. Both students called for more transparency over administrative changes, saying none of the student body or parents had been alerted as of Monday afternoon. I think its important for everyone to understand that, Pederson said. Aiello is a recently retired public school teacher, who taught for 34 years. He said he views enrollment as more periodic and up-and-down than static or permanent since the board only knows the current situation and near-future projections. West Sonoma County School Board Meeting 8-25-21 (Screenshot from livestream)The West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees will appoint a new member tonight. Throughout all of the hardships, shes been a really strong leader.. Learning is a transformative experience. His term will run through December 2022. Thats absolutely possible. However, I think the perception of equal representation is important as well.. The Sebastopol school has 1,466 students enrolled this year, according to the California Department of Education. Results were included in a staff report for Wednesdays meeting, and it did not break down the feedback based on whether a student was associated with Analy or El Molino. We will remove any comments or commenters that do not follow this commenting policy. If you are interested or know of someone who would like to work as an Administrative Assistant, please apply online: . For many districts, salary and benefits packages can account for between 80% and 85% of a districts budget. | Overall, our goals are to get the board to revote and not close El Molino High School [or] if they are going to choose to consolidate to do it in a thoughtful, longer term process," Hayes said. Ballotpedia covers public school districts in the 100 largest cities in America by population, as well as the 200 largest public school districts by student enrollment. Create New Account. Responses from 1,148 of them showed 52% supported naming the school Analy and 32.1% wanted to call it West County. That perspective, though, is a breaking point for some residents who still aim to restore El Molino in the future. Buttke declined to provide an exact number of signatures collected so far because she said petitions are constantly coming in from sites and residents across the region. The West County high school district includes Analy, El Molino and Laguna high schools and has an enrollment of approximately 1,700 students. Julie Aiello, the only trustee to vote against Nagles appointment, raised that concern before the vote. School officials proposed consolidation last fall as a potential solution to a $1.2 million annual structural budget deficit. The school board trustees made the move official with a unanimous vote at their regular board meeting Wednesday night. I feel like I need to do everything I can to make sure they dont control our futures any longer, she said. Dont destroy all the Analy history that weve all created, said one caller who described himself as a member of its class of 1980. The group has until Aug. 28 to turn in all collected signatures. When theres instability at the top, it shakes things all the way down, McElroy said, noting that the revolving door of teachers and administrators in the past few years has caused confusion and stress among staff and students. I will not be rerunning, Noe said. Search . Recall elections against 17 board members were held in 2021. Recall supporters had 120 days to collect signatures equal to 20% of registered voters in the school district, a total of 7,187 signatures. I had the good fortune to work with and learn from some very skilled administrators and take part in professional development opportunities which will allow me to serve the community well on the high school board now. They needed at least 7,187 valid signatures from registered voters in the school district but had only collected 3,084 signatures for a recall, Sonoma County Clerk and Registrar of Voters Deva Proto said in August. This would be the first local consolidation study undertaken since the state in 2013 adopted its Local Control Funding Formula model of doling out funds to schools. Facing budget challenges and declining enrollment, West Sonoma County Union High School District has launched a study to examine the feasibility of consolidating with any or all of the 10 districts that feed into the high school district. Discussions between board members and the public about that idea and other possibilities to cut costs or increase revenue were from the outset full of passion, fear and anger. Over the years we have done a lot to maintain the two-school model, Noe said, including funding a marketing position to try to attract more students first to El Molino, which was experiencing the bigger enrollment decline, and then the district as a whole. Board members approved consolidation in March. Recall supporters submitted petitions by the deadline, but the Sonoma County Registrar of Voters found that only 3,084 signatures had been submitted, which ended the recall effort. UPDATED: Please read and follow our commenting policy: Analy and El Molino high schools merged earlier this year. Few people came to the in-person meeting Wednesday, but west county residents tuned in through the school districts YouTube channel, trading opinions on social media. Click here to contact our editorial staff, and click here to report an error. Ferdinandson started at the district in 2000 as an English teacher and in 2021 became principal of the school, which had just been renamed West County High School in an attempt to rebrand it after its merger with El Molino High School. 462 Johnson Street, Sebastopol, CA 95472. Fernandes is also an Analy graduate, with several generations before her also graduates of the school. Noe and Fernandes echoed similar sentiments. How to run for office | Even then, talks about the district budget were tense, Noe said. The world is filled with stories that inspire compassion, wonder, laughs and even tears. I get that I dont live there, but that doesnt mean I wont advocate for every kid equally and take their concerns seriously.. Fernandes and Noe called the expense wasteful, in light of their plans to leave the board less than a year after any recall election would be held. [6], Noe's and Fernandes' terms were scheduled to be up for election on November 8, 2022. Some residents are skeptical, though. You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. Both women said in interviews in early August that they dont plan on running to keep their positions when their terms expire next fall. It is to the north of Marin County and the south of Mendocino County.It is west of Napa and Lake Counties.. Sonoma County comprises the Santa Rosa-Petaluma Metropolitan Statistical . Im not here to weigh in on what I think is better or best. A demographers report will help determine where the boundary lines will fall. Recalling the three board members who voted in March to advance the consolidation, those advocates say, could give communities along the Russian River whose residents long attended El Molino the opportunity to swap in new trustees who could vote to reverse the consolidation in favor of other budget solutions. In Fall 2021, the Analy High School and El Molino High School consolidated to address a growing budget deficit, which the district blamed on declining enrollment and not enough state funding to meet costs of both schools. The study will include all 10 districts that feed into the West County high school district: Fort Ross, Montgomery, Guerneville, Monte Rio, Forestville, Harmony, Oak Grove, Sebastopol, Twin Hills and Gravenstein. This school district is outside of that coverage scope and does not receive . Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees has placed on the ballot the question of whether the District should levy an education . The cost to the district for that election could range from $90,000 to $162,500. Board member Angie Lewis dissented following a discussion that lasted nearly two hours and reflected the tumultuous year of protests, lawsuits and recall efforts in response to the consolidation. The West Sonoma County Union High School District Board of Trustees on Wednesday voted unanimously to request a feasibility study examining the potential consolidation of the. I believe that a solid public education for all of our youth is one of the best ways to ensure a healthy, thriving society. She said she wanted community involvement in budget decisions to make cuts that would impact students the least, but COVID-19 and the fires challenge communication. The Sonoma County Clerk and Registrar tells the Press Democrat the recall groups failed to get enough signatures to have a recall election of Board President Kellie Noe and Vice President. The consolidation was proposed last year as a potential solution to the districts projected $1.2 million structural deficit. [3] Districtwide, the student population fell nearly 12% over the past five years and about 32% since 1981. The families of west county have had to endure more than their share of trauma over the last few years, Fadave said in a text message. The recall organizers need to gather a minimum of 7,187 valid signatures to get the issue to a ballot, Proto said. Miss Ferdinandson is like a cornerpiece to our school and its going to be really strange without her, Steinberg said. Board Vice President Jeanne Fernandes noted there was never any commitment to using West County High School as a permanent name and it was designated a temporary name from the beginning. Steve Griffith, a Forestville resident and parent to two El Molino alumni, was the only applicant from a river community to apply for the open seat. Voiding a board appointment requires far fewer signatures than recalling an elected member: Organizers would need to collect 541 signatures in 30 days to remove Nagle and trigger a special election, according to Deva Proto, county clerk and registrar of voters. West County trustee Angie Lewis on Wednesday acknowledged the tension that accompanies any discussion of consolidation. West County High School will return to being called Analy High School as early as next year after officials ended a rebranding effort that arose from a controversial consolidation with El Molino High School in Forestville. The county office has $65,000 budgeted for such studies, he said. 7050 Covey Road, Sebastopol, Sonoma 95436 He is a Sebastopol resident. Though the name West County High School is considered a placeholder name until the students decide on a permanent one during the upcoming school year, alterations to the Analy campus pushed many Sebastopol families to join the recall effort. As a classroom nurse, she worked with schools and families on education plans for students. The four candidates running for the challenge are Julie Aiello, Lynn Schallebaum Gleeson, Kyle OConnor and Laurie Ann Fadave, with often similar ideas on addressing the issues. Board President Kellie Noe conceded she was disappointed with the process and said it only left the community more divided. Nagle, who spent six years growing up in county-provided housing in Gualala while his father worked for the Sonoma Sheriffs Office, said he can relate to the perspectives of residents in far west county, despite living in Sebastopol now. [7], Recall supporters said they were not in favor of the consolidation of the high schools. Sonoma is a city in Sonoma County, California, United States, located in the North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area.Sonoma is one of the principal cities of California's Wine Country and the center of the Sonoma Valley AVA.Sonoma's population was 10,739 as of the 2020 census, while the Sonoma urban area had a population of 32,679. Thank you to Jennifer Nix and to all of the families that parti 45-Day Update to the District Budget Based on the Final State Budget
Heading into the 2020-2021 school year, the West Sonoma County Union High School District was facing a structural deficit of $1.2 million, which would surpass $2 million if unchecked by the 2022-2023 school year. West Sonoma County Union High School District | Home Welcome to West Sonoma County Union High School District! Yet, OConnor said he thinks the board needs to face the reality that budget cuts that reduce services might have to happen and that the board must consult the community or face conflict. Beyond that, its a right, under the law, for every child in this country. All timelines considered, its likely that the election would be held sometime in February. If more than one existing trustee winds up in the same zone, they may have to run again for control of the seat. When students and school staff feel safe and respected, engagement grows and learning is improved. "I am concerned with equal representation, she said. In her closing comments, Lewis noted she attended Analy but criticized Analy alumnis insistence that their alma maters name be retained, stressing that a name doesnt affect the quality of a school. READ MORE > 15th Annual Sonoma County Transition Fair READ MORE > Community Advisory Commtiee Two tax measures that would have provided bridge funding to help push off consolidation for at least a year both failed to garner a two-thirds majority in March. Noon-1PM, Sonoma Valley Grad Debuts First Full-Length Film on Streaming Services, California Pauses Home Loan Program Over Demand, California's Largest Electric Companies Looking to Change Billing, Preschool Fair this Wednesday for Sonoma Valley, Sonoma County Will Not Report Daily Covid Counts Anymore. It makes our school day a little bit longer art, science, physical education, acting, music a variety of different things where we have incredibly highly trained specialists. She said the possibility of consolidating high schools had to be considered very carefully and she hopes to find ways to keep money in classrooms and restore vocational education classes to attract inter-district transfers rather than cut classes. West Sonoma County High School District The sunlight was just beginning to recede from the treetops in Forestville on a warm summer evening when Josh Nultemeier headed to quiet Pajaro Lane with a pen and three petition forms. . And we were able to save a lot of money working together with the district.. Milan Mimi Buttke, a Forestville resident and one of the lead organizers, said the group is aiming to collect closer to 9,000 signatures to ensure they have enough to qualify. Schools . An opportunity for geographic representation was missed tonight, Hopkins said in a Facebook post. Apply online: graduates of the school board trustees made the move official with a vote... 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