Guerneville School trustees to revisit vote on renting office space

A decision by Guerneville School officials to rent office space to a private psychotherapist on campus grounds has raised the ire of some local families concerned about exposing students to unknown visitors and what they fear could be inappropriate conduct.

School trustees have called a special meeting Monday amid second-guessing of their Jan. 12 vote to allow marriage and family therapist Shannon Rogge to rent a campus room in which she would see clients.

The vote was 4-0. Board president Kim Lambert was absent but has scheduled the 6 p.m. meeting so the board can “revisit” the agreement.

The debate pits the need for mental health services in an area with an acknowledged shortage against the unconventional nature of renting school space for a private business, as well as uncertainties about the people who, because of medical confidentiality, would be allowed on campus without having to sign in at the office, the way any other school visitors do.

Some parents also were upset to learn about the arrangement without any advance outreach on the part of Principal/Superintendent Elaine Carlson.

“A lot of the parents, we don’t want any outside businesses or people from the public just coming onto campus, basically, for the safety of our children,” said Heidi Flowers, who has two kids at the K-8school. “It’s just uncomfortable not knowing the backgrounds of these people coming onto the campus.

She and others are concerned, as well, about the potential for domestic disturbances involving people who come in for counseling, the possibility of strangers interacting with students in restrooms or elsewhere on school grounds, and the problems of confidentiality where students and their families might be concerned.

Rogge herself is no stranger to the school community. She counseled students for four months last year under contract between the school and the Community and Family Service Agency, which employed her until it shuttered its counseling department last month, according to a Memorandum of Understanding approved by the school board last week. Lambert said Rogge also brought in family members of students for counseling, when appropriate.

In a letter describing her vision for her new practice, Rogge said she wants to provide low fee and sliding scale counseling in an easily accessible location to a community for whom transportation is sometimes an obstacle.

She would pay $250 a month to the school for the privilege.

Carlson did not return phone calls over two days seeking comment.

Efforts to reach Rogge for comment also were unsuccessful.

But in a letter to the board she said the school, presumably Carlson, offered to rent her space when she found renting a private practice office in Guerneville or Forestville “extremely difficult, if not impossible.”

“There is a tremendous need for mental health services, particularly for the youth in this part of the county, and a noticeable lack of local mental health providers,” Rogge wrote.

The MOU says she’ll have to schedule around the needs of the campus’ home-school teacher, who wil use the same space.

The agreement also commits Rogge to “fully assessing the appropriateness of potential clients,” screening out anyone with “a potential for violence.”

She also agreed to escort those not affiliated with the school from the parking lot to her office and back. She also must carry liability and business insurance.

Skeptics said it would be one thing if all this took place after school hours, but it doesn’t make sense, they said, to take risks when children are on campus.

“I believe this would be going on nationwide if this were normal, acceptable,” said parent Naomi Huffstutter. “...I mean, $250 a month is worth this? I don’t agree.”

Lambert said she had some concerns and questions of her own, and so asked her board colleagues to meet again on the issue Monday night.

The meeting begins at 6 p.m. in the Guerneville School Library.

You can reach Staff Writer Mary Callahan at 521-5249 or mary.callahan@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @MaryCallahanB.