A tiny, 1-school district is the second to formally vote against Santa Rosa City Schools consolidation

In a swift, unanimous vote Thursday night, the tiny Kenwood School District became the second to formally oppose consolidation with Santa Rosa City Schools under a plan that would fold nine elementary feeder districts into the county’s largest district.

Plan supporters say consolidation would ensure students in all nine districts had the same curriculum and academic support upon entering high school. That, they say, would improve student success while saving millions in administrative costs.

With 113 K-6 students, Kenwood is one of the nine feeder districts whose students eventually transition into Santa Rosa City Schools’ high schools.

Getting approval from all nine districts would have been the easiest way for the consolidation to move forward, but after Thursday’s decision and a similar resolution passed in March by the Wright Elementary School District, that option is no longer viable.

Board President Cheryl Ghisla said the resolution against consolidation stands as a declaration to Santa Rosa City Schools in support of Kenwood students, backed by their parents and teachers.

“We feel that we need to support our children, our teachers and our community and by putting forth this resolution,” Ghisla said. “We're letting Santa Rosa know that we do not want to be acquired.”

The resolution passed with little discussion from trustees after Superintendent Nathan Myers read it out loud.

“The Governing Board of the Kenwood School District further believes that remaining independent will allow the District to continue to serve the unique needs of its students and community in the most effective manner,” the resolution states.

“We've been independent for 62 years and we have been fiscally responsible,” Ghisla said before the meeting. “We want to remain independent. We can service our children, our community, we know them, and being absorbed into a larger mega district is just not for us.”

She noted a possible decline in per pupil funding after the consolidation, in comparison to Kenwood’s current allotted funding.

Kenwood is a basic aid district, meaning they are funded through property tax revenue, allotting each student $24,000 per year.

If they were a part of the consolidation, their funding would be determined by the Local Control Funding Formula and would drop their per pupil funding to about $17,000, Ghisla said.

“That’s a deficit for our children,” she added.

Santa Rosa isn’t the only district discussing consolidation. There are 40 school districts in Sonoma County, some with fewer than 20 students. Only four of California’s 58 counties have more school districts.

The Sonoma County of Office of Education facilitates a standing 11-member independent committee that studies the issue across the county.

After Thursday’s Kenwood vote, there are two options for Santa Rosa City Schools to move forward with consolidation. One would require trustees to submit a petition to the state signed by 25% of the registered voters who live in what would become the new unified district. The other is to request help from an elected official who would submit a petition to the state on their behalf.

Santa Rosa City Schools Board President Omar Medina said the latter is more feasible, though he noted the board has not made a decision to move forward with requesting support from any local agencies.

He also said he didn’t anticipate all feeder districts would support the consolidation, especially a small district like Kenwood, 25 minutes from central Santa Rosa.

“They kind of fall outside of that identity of the City of Santa Rosa perspective,” Medina said. “I can see that perspective and the want to maintain.”

He pushed against the idea that the consolidation would mean Santa Rosa City Schools would acquire its surrounding smaller districts.

“I think the important thing to understand is that, what would happen in the consolidation, it’s not unifying with Santa Rosa City Schools,” Medina said. “It will undo all of the districts — Santa Rosa City Schools, all the other districts will become undone and an entirely new district will be created.”

This story has been corrected to reflect the fact that the Wright Elementary School District has also voted against consolidation.

Report For America corps member Adriana Gutierrez covers education and child welfare issues for The Press Democrat. Reach her at Adriana.Gutierrez@pressdemocrat.com.