Proctor Terrace School neighbors seeing red over paint job

School’s out for summer in Santa Rosa, but all eyes are on Proctor Terrace Elementary School on Bryden Lane.

The neighorhood is atwitter over the campus’ new paint job and some who live near the 60-year-old school are downright angry that they weren’t consulted before the school’s taupe-and-brown facade was painted “Timeworn Terracotta” with “Polenta” trim.

“It’s the great pumpkin, Charlie Brown!” said Dorothy Silva, who has lived down the street from the school on Grosse Avenue for more than three decades. “It just cheapens the whole neighborhood.”

“Why didn’t they let the neighbors know?” Silva said. “That’s what upset the neighbors. We are here 24 hours a day — they just come and go and are gone all summer.”

Neighbors have circulated letters of complaint and urged each other to call district officials to make their opinions known.

One notice that was dropped in scores of mailboxes reads in part: “If you are not happy with the new color of Proctor Terrace School, please contact the principal and the district office. The new color shows a disregard for the neighborhood and is an affront to us all.”

Stephen Mayer, principal of Proctor Terrace, said the campus chose the new scheme in a democratic fashion early this year.

He and two district employees narrowed down a selection of color pairings to four choices, including three cream/ivory setups much like what existed on the campus for decades. But parents and staff, who were given a few weeks to vote, overwhelmingly picked the orange-ish color by 66 percent, Mayer said.

Sixty-four votes were cast.

“We sent out e-mails and at least two paper (notices) to our school community,” he said. “Our parent population is so involved, we figured ‘Let’s let them have a say.’”

The school board approved $82,875 for the project on April22.

Mayer, who said he did not cast a vote and was steadfastly diplomatic about the color on Wednesday, acknowledged that he was initially taken aback.

“When I first looked at it, it’s a shock, but I like it,” he said. “We knew we weren’t going to please everybody.”

“I don’t know if it’s a generational thing,” he said. “People don’t like change and we’re seeing the reaction.”

From the large window near their kitchen table, Shirley and William Harrington have for decades watched kids play at recess and students grow up and move on.

Taking a break from their evening meal, the pair made no bones about what they thought of the new view.

“I don’t know who picked it out, but it’s a horrible color,” Shirley Harrington said, as her husband added: “It’s a shame.”

But William Harrington said he is realistic about what the school was up against in picking a new color.

“The parents don’t have to look at it,” he said. “By the same token, if you would have given the neighbors a choice, nobody would have agreed. That’s a fact of life.”

Staff Writer Kerry Benefield writes an education blog at extracredit.pressdemocrat.com

She can be reached at 526-8671 or kerry.benefield@pressdemocrat.com.