Santa Rosa schools warn of possible closures due to Friday storm

Montgomery School in Cazadero and Bodega Bay School in Marin County were closed on Friday due to the storm, school officials said.

All Sonoma County schools are open after earlier warning parents that they could be closed because of the storm.

Santa Rosa City Schools canceled a special meeting of the school board on Thursday night and issued notices alerting students, parents and staff about the potential for closures on Friday.

"If we have a storm coming that is truly as bad as is on the forecast, we need to be paying attention," said Doug Bower, associate superintendent of Santa Rosa City Schools. "It's just kind of a head's up. I'm not trying to put any fear out there. I think it was a balanced communication."

Principals across the 16,500-student district were instructed to communicate with families about the potential for either individual school closures or a district-wide shutdown.

"We have a whole lot of new folks," Bower said of principals across the district. "A lot of people haven't ever been through the exercise."

"I don't call it overpreparing," Bower said. "I just think it's good communication."