Supporters of El Molino High School in Forestville are continuing their drive to stop declining enrollment and develop a turnaround strategy to draw students to the Covey Road campus.
A community meeting Wednesday night to discuss strategies drew about 100 people to the campus library where supporters suggested creating magnet science, arts or agriculture programs, bolstering public outreach and bringing community members to campus in mentor and support functions.
"I think that one of the unique advantages that El Molino has is it's a small school that offers individualized attention and diverse career, college prep and arts programs, so a student can basically do it all in a small-school environment," said Keller McDonald, superintendent of the West Sonoma County High School District.
El Molino's declining numbers have come at a time when neighboring Analy High is twice as big and operating near capacity, in large part because of an increasing number of transfers, including students who live within El Molino's boundaries.
It has created tension between the school communities and a bit of tug-of-war over prestige and resources. Officials say there is no consideration of merging the schools.
"It's a perception thing," McDonald said. "There are no indications, based on (Advanced Placement) exam results or SAT results . . . that there is a significant difference in west county high schools. They are both among the top college prep programs in the county based on those kinds of measures."
El Molino posted a 791 on the 2013 state Academic Performance Index, while Analy High, West Sonoma County High School District's other comprehensive campus, posted an 833. The state goal is 800.
El Molino, a four-time winner of the California Distinguished School designation, has 604 students, down from its peak of 1,200 in 1998-99. Enrollment at Analy in downtown Sebastopol is 1,369.
A transfer policy put in place for this school year slowed the number of freshmen transferring from El Molino to Analy from 66 in 2012-13 to 22 this year. The total number of students who live within El Molino's boundaries but attend Analy is 107 -#8212; down from 117 last year.
Adding to the tensions is the issue of money and how it is allocated to the schools.
District voters approved a parcel tax in 2012, just two years after saying yes to a $23.8 million bond for facilities.
Questions have arisen over whether the district should spend more on Analy because it has twice as many students on a much older campus, or whether more money should be diverted to El Molino to help shore up the student population.
In addition, the state's new funding formula presents a dramatic change in how districts receive funds, directing a base amount per student but giving supplemental funds for students in certain categories, such as those who are learning English, are low-income or are foster children. Districts must clearly outline how students in those categories are being served by the supplemental funding. The school board must adopt and submit a spending plan by June.
"It's a daunting task and it has to be done with a significant amount of public input," McDonald said.
About 3.4 percent of El Molino's students were considered English-language learners in 2012-13, the most recent figures available, compared with 1.5 percent at Analy. Thirty-eight percent of El Molino's students qualify for free or reduced-price lunches, compared with 18 percent at Analy.
So, El Molino will get more of the supplemental funding because it has more qualifying students, McDonald said.
"This school district does not run its schools purely on the basis of enrollment, but on the basis of overall school need and student need and that is the way most businesses are run," he said. "It's the overall picture that we look at so right now there is a big facility investment occurring at both schools."
But community members say larger than any interdistrict competition is the question of how to create programs at El Molino that will pull in students from outside the traditional district boundaries -#8212; something at which Analy has excelled.
Still, educators acknowledge that the enrollment conundrum is a zero-sum game -#8212; Sonoma County is aging and the number of school-age kids is dropping. When one school brings in students and the state funding that comes with them, another campus loses.
Enrollment across the huge West County High School District is declining. Enrollment at schools within El Molino's boundaries has fallen from 831 in 2009-10 to 675 this year, a decline of about 19 percent. Within Analy's boundaries, the number of students in feeder schools has dropped from 934 to 869 during the same period, a slide of about 7 percent.
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