Maria Carrillo ‘curb appeal’ project angers parents, teachers who say other schools have more need

A half million dollar project to improve “curb appeal” at the upscale Maria Carrillo High School and its stadium is drawing outrage from parents, teachers and students who say other schools in the Santa Rosa City Schools district have greater needs.

Maria Carrillo High School, which opened in 1996 in Rincon Valley, is the district’s newest school.

The criticism of the district’s decision to allocate almost half a million dollars for the Maria Carrillo upgrades is being cast as an equity issue by parents and teachers who argue that there are greater facility needs at schools including Piner High and Elsie Allen High, which have more families in need.

“I’m frustrated as a taxpayer, as a voter, and as a parent,” said Donna Prak, who is president of the Piner High School Parent Association and its athletic booster club who has raised close to $200,000 for various schools and programs her children have attended over the years. She recently won a merit award for her volunteer work.

The project involves a $482,733 contract with Heavenly Greens Inc. and was approved in a March 27 regular meeting.

Though district officials describe it as a “curb-appeal” project, Associate Superintendent Lisa August said it is more complicated than that.

The project aims to address urgent safety concerns related to overgrown vegetation, particularly around the neglected area of Maria Carrillo’s stadium at the base of the track and field and the pole vault area.

The funds come from Measure C bonds, which voters passed in November 2022 to address facilities issues such as deteriorating classrooms, outdated technology and insufficient infrastructure systems, which can include improving the visual appearance of the campus “to create a warm and inviting atmosphere for the community,” she said.

There’s a common misconception that bond money can go toward education programs.

During the last round of bond measure spending, the other four major high schools had their stadiums upgraded and some had grass replaced with turf, but “there wasn't enough to go around to fix and finalize everything the district had planned to work on,” including Maria Carillo’s stadium, August said.

The bulk of the $480,000 cost is to finish the stadium project, which includes clearing overgrown weeds and a large gully by the fields that’s posing a safety hazard to student athletes. This is the more costly aspect of the project, but the most necessary, she argues.

Only about $80,000 is for the curb appeal portion (clearing weeds, landscaping, enhancing the overall appearance through groundwork,) August said.

The district may look to replicate this “curb appeal” project at the other school sites in the future.

The two projects are being conducted together by the same company in order to save money and time, she added.

But the idea that Maria Carrillo’s fields’ needs are being addressed over the needs of other athletic programs is “a slap in the face” for Prak, who said Piner High’s baseball fields are in desperate need of attention, with dugouts and backstops that are also posing safety concerns to athletes.

The grass in the fields, which were not being tended to enough, was getting too high for students to practice, so parents raised money for new lawn mowers this year. The coaches often mow the lawns themselves in their free time.

Kathryn Howell, the president of the Santa Rosa Teacher’s Association, said in a text: “I don’t know if the other high school tracks are worse but they all have areas of weeds and mud around the track that need attention.”

Manny Deon, coach of the Santa Rosa High baseball team, also expressed frustration with the funds going toward Maria Carrillo.

Santa Rosa High is the only high school in the district without a junior varsity field to practice on, which deters potential student athletes from attending, he said.

Deon added that many parents end up sending their kids to Maria Carrillo, Cardinal Newman or the various charter schools in the district, contributing to declining enrollment at the other schools, he argues.

“I just feel like every school in the district has one of these athletic fields and we don't have one so I'm like, why do we not?“ he said. “Maybe there's a lot of stronger influences on the east side that have swayed the board’s decisions more so than the west side of town.”

Another parent in the district, Brianna Matel, has a daughter in Slater Middle school who will be headed to Montgomery High School next year.

As a parent observing many of her parent friends leaving Montgomery High over facility and safety concerns, “to know we are spending money on curb appeal projects is really appalling to me,” she said.

She added that there’s a parent sentiment that the district is spending money on unnecessary things such as turf and the installation of new electronic signs in 2021, when there isn’t enough money to meet all the infrastructure needs in the district.

“All kids deserve to go to their neighborhood schools and feel safe and have those needs met,” she said. “It’s really disheartening.”

August said she understands the frustration, but added that less than .1% of the bond money is being spent on this project. She pointed to the new $27 million Montgomery High classroom building under construction, and other projects slated across the district.

“I know, people are, rightfully so, concerned that other school sites might not be feeling the love from the bond or maintenance operations,” August said. “And you know, there are lots of projects going on throughout the city and especially on the southwest side of town,” she said.

“And we're going to do a better job of showcasing and communicating that to our community so that they're aware of what we have going on,” added Vanessa Wedderburn, the district’s spokesperson.

You can reach Staff Writer Alana Minkler at 707-526-8531 or alana.minkler@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter,) @alana_minkler.