Thousands of Sonoma County students walk out of classes to protest campus violence
Following campus demonstrations calling for improved safety across Sonoma County Wednesday afternoon, students and community members are reconvening at Old Courthouse Square in downtown Santa Rosa for an afternoon rally.
Students will hold a moment of silence in honor of Jayden Pienta, a 16-year-old Montgomery High School junior, who was fatally stabbed March 1 during an altercation on campus. Students from Montgomery, as well as student leaders from other Santa Rosa schools are expected to address the crowd.
Demonstrators will then march to Santa Rosa City Hall, 100 Santa Rosa Ave., where the Santa Rosa City Schools board will meet at 6 p.m. in the council chambers.
Santa Rosa police officers provided security and blocked traffic as students and community members walked to the meeting.
The board meeting is expected to draw public comments from students, parents and teachers though there are no items on the agenda related to the fatal March 1 fight or campus violence.
Elected trustees will consider bathroom renovations at Montgomery and Ridgway high schools, as well as the issuance of bonds to help pay for capital projects, among other regular business.
Montgomery students have raised concerns about aging infrastructure at the campus, including sewage system problems.
The meeting will be preceded by a closed-door session at 4 p.m. where trustees will meet with the district’s legal counsel to discuss several items, including anticipated litigation.
The board called an emergency meeting the day after Pienta’s death to discuss a possible lawsuit though district officials have not said whether the district has been notified it will be sued over the stabbing.
Check back here for live updates from Press Democrat reporters in the field.
Here is the latest on the demonstrations:
5:30 p.m.: Students and community members have filled the council chamber’s 187 seats and Santa Rosa firefighters said they won’t allow people to stand inside the room.
A student announced to those remaining outside that the chamber was at capacity. They planned to remain in the courtyard and speakers would rotate in and out of the chambers during public comment.
5:20 p.m.: Jon Schwan, Montgomery High soccer coach, stood and watched the rally outside City Hall. His oldest daughter is a senior at Montgomery; his younger is an eighth grader at Slater Middle School, the feeder school for Montgomery.
"It hit our family on multiple levels," he said of the deadly altercation inside the high school on March 1.
He said adults will soon have to take a more active role in also calling for change.
“I still think right now we're in the supporting phase, but this isn't going to change until the parents speak up,” he said.
“We as parents have to do a better job, one, at home, and two, of electing these people (on the school board) because it's their policies. We have to hold these people to account.”
5:15 p.m. The crowd is starting to make its way to the school board meeting at the Santa Rosa City Council Hall with students chanting in unison that they want change.
Officers on motorcycles stopped traffic at Santa Rosa Avenue and First Street so students could cross over to the city complex. A pair of adults stood along the street with a sign that said “We hear you.”
4:50 p.m.: Montgomery High School senior Joey Bowser, a member of the school’s student government, started the rally with a moment of silence.
“Jayden died at our school the other day and that was really real. That's why we're going to do this moment of silence.”
4:45 p.m.: About 75 to 100 students have gathered at Old Courthouse Square ahead of the rally.
One of those students, Mae Pickering, 16, a sophomore at Credo High School, said mental health services in schools needed to be bolstered.
“We're high school kids, we all have issues," she said. “Part of these problems is we're not getting the help they need.”
Nick George, 16, a Montgomery junior, sat with a sign that said: "His blood is on your hands,“ referring to Pienta.
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