Santa Rosa board to discuss school name changes,new safety position, Gaza cease-fire resolution

Santa Rosa City Schools trustees have a lengthy to-do list for Wednesday night’s board meeting, where they will discuss changing the names of two schools, consider a resolution supporting a cease-fire in Gaza, and vote on a new campus safety position.

The board is also expected to hear an update on credit recovery efforts for students who are not on track to graduate.

Agenda items dealing with school safety or graduation requirements typically draw the most participation from the public. Parents, teachers and others can speak during the public comment portion of the 6 p.m. meeting at Santa Rosa City Hall.

Anywhere from 20% to 50% of the class of 2024 is in danger of not graduating, depending on which high school they go to. Last week, trustees approved a rolling waiver for these students, allowing future graduating classes to access offramps to the district’s stringent “A-G for All“ policy, which places all high schoolers in college preparatory classes starting their freshman year.

During Wednesday’s meeting, three district officials will discuss the success of curricular and extracurricular courses added during this school year. Those include extended day credit recovery classes at Maria Carrillo and Montgomery high schools, and a night school at Santa Rosa High that began at the top of the year.

More than 350 students are actively accessing credit recovery through these programs.

The presenters will also outline seven new academic summer programs for K-12 students.

Trustees may also address concerns about school safety from parents who have expressed frustration over what they feel is a lack of progress since a student died on a high school campus just over a year ago.

Teachers have joined parents in addressing trustees in past board meetings, pleading for more adults on campus. The district has been unable to fill job vacancies for campus supervisors, who oversee outdoor areas during the school day.

Trustees will propose a new position, a “Student Safety Adviser,” similar to a campus supervisor but has more responsibility in facilitating relationships with students, their families and the vice principal, when it comes to disciplinary actions for students.

The adviser will focus on conflict intervention between students and may dole out detention notices. Advisers can escort students lingering in halls to classrooms and break up student “disturbances” in accordance with district policies.

The position, which will be placed on a California School Employee Association salary scale pending approval, will make about $3,850 a month, based on the 2022-23 CSEA Chapter 75 salary scale. It is unclear yet how many of these positions will open across the district.

Wednesday’s meeting will also reopen a four-year conversation about renaming James Monroe Elementary School.

Board President Omar Medina will lead the discussion. In 2020 he proposed renaming the elementary school after Sonoma County civil rights leader George Ortiz.

The conversation around the school’s name evolved during the country’s reckoning over racism, which led to the renaming of countless schools and buildings with ties to historical figures embedded in racism.

The northwest Santa Rosa school is ostensibly named after James Monroe, the nation’s fifth president. However the original name of the school — Monroe Elementary — recognized Sonoma County pioneers. The Monroe District was recognized as early as 1870, named after early residents of the area north of Piner Road and south of the Santa Rosa Creek.

But in 1984, Santa Rosa City Schools trustees voted to add “James” to the name, led by former SRCS director Cynthia Zieber, who later noted in 2021 that the addition was a “mistake.”

Rincon Valley Middle School is also being considered for a name change, possibly taking a recent community member’s suggestion to honor Carole Ellis, a longtime Sonoma County educator who died last year.

Trustees will not vote officially on the renaming of either school on Wednesday, but will likely call for a committee to propose new names for the two schools and vote at a later date.

Board members on Wednesday also will consider a resolution supporting a cease-fire in Gaza.

The agenda says the resolution “highlights the commitment to fostering a safe and respectful learning environment, addressing the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, protecting students' rights to express views on international issues, supporting diverse perspectives, and communicating this commitment to relevant stakeholders.”

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