Sonoma County school closures announced

Nearly half of Sonoma County schools will remain closed next week, one week after fires filled North Bay skies with thick smoke and forced school administrators to cancel classes for the vast majority of the county’s 70,000 elementary, middle and high school students.

Santa Rosa Junior College also announced Saturday it will suspend classes through Oct. 22. Officials cited danger from fire, smoke and changing weather conditions, as well as challenges for affected students and employees. More than 200 students and employees have lost their homes, and hundreds have had to evacuate.

“SRJC will continue to monitor the situation and will reopen when fire and air quality conditions make it safe to return,” the college announced.

Santa Rosa City Schools, the county’s largest school district with 16,400 students, will remain closed all week, according to the Sonoma County Office of Education.

Six other districts with 14,300 students will also stay closed. They include:

Geyserville

Kenwood

Mark West

Piner Olivet Union

Rincon Valley schools (tentatively closed all week, but may try to reopen Thursday or Friday)

Roseland

Sonoma Valley

More than two dozen schools will attempt to resume classes next week. Six districts with 6,500 students plan to open Monday:

Cotati-Rohnert Park Unified

Fort Ross

Horicon

Monte Rio

Montgomery Elementary

Kashia

Sixteen districts with 12,800 students plan to open Tuesday:

Alexander Valley – Closed Monday, other days to be determined

Bennett Valley – Closed Monday (tentative), other days to be determined

Forestville

Gravenstein

Guerneville (tentative)

Harmony

Healdsburg

Oak Grove

Old Adobe

Sonoma County Office of Education Programs (tentative)

Sebastopol Union

Sebastopol Independent Charter

The Reach School

Twin Hills Union

West Side

West Sonoma County Union High

Four districts with 10,100 students plan to reopen Wednesday:

Bellevue

Cloverdale (tentative)

Windsor (tentative)

Wright

Seven districts with 10,400 students have not determined their schedule for next week, but plan to announce their status on Sunday afternoon:

Cinnabar

Dunham

Liberty

Petaluma

Two Rock

Waugh

Wilson

Some districts are waiting to decide based on changing circumstances in their areas. While some districts will be closed to students, they will be open for staff re-orientation and planning. All school employees should check with their districts to see when they should return to work.